From The Star,

City status for PJ early next year PETALING JAYA: City status will be granted to Petaling Jaya in March or April next year, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo announced. Petaling Jaya, which is one of the oldest towns in Selangor, had met all the criteria for achieving city status, he said, adding that the Cabinet had approved the application for city status by the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council (MPPJ). cont..

The politicians are hailing the decision to confer PJ a "city" status. Sounds grand but what should the communities in PJ be expecting. The politicians are promising that the Municipal Council or to be City Hall will be more efficient from collecting rubbish to cleaning drains under their jurisdiction. The question is, will the MPPJ change its stripes. Afterall the people managing MPPJ will remain the same so will be their "trustworthy" politicians. What makes them think that things will take a drastic turn just by declaring PJ a city?

One drastic thing that is sure to happen is the increase in assessment rates, increasing the financial burden to an area that is already experiencing an escalation in the cost of living. Do PJians really want this city status?

Perhaps it would be wise to set things in order first before declaring oneself a city. Improving these recognised deficiencies should be the priority of the Municipal Council and state government not the gradious thought of a city. What is the point? Does Malaysia want to enter the Guiness Book of Records as the country with the most cities?

This exercise is plain pointless and sure to exhaust precious taxpayers' money.