No conflict of interest in appointing Sundarajoo - Chow

 

No conflict of interest in appointing Sundarajoo - Chow


The Penang chief minister has assured that there is no conflict of interest in the appointment of Perai assemblyperson S Sundarajoo as the executive councillor in charge of housing and environment in the state government.

Chow Kon Yeow said Sundarajoo's vast experience in the development sector would serve as an asset to the state government.

"As far as I know, he (Sundarajoo) is no longer a director or holds positions in any housing development company. I understand he only holds a minor share.

"We can utilise his decades of experience in housing development as an asset to understand issues related to the sector in the state," Sinar Harian quoted the DAP leader telling a press conference today.

Earlier, Chow (above) attended the swearing-in ceremony of the state leadership line-up before Governor Abdul Fuzi Abdul Razak at Dewan Sri Pinang in George Town.


Business interests

Sundarajoo, who replaced former DAP strongman P Ramasamy in Perai, is a former deputy chief executive officer of Eco World Development Group Bhd.

Elaborating, Chow said appointed executive council members are not allowed to have business interests, as stipulated by the state constitution.

Sundarajoo won the Perai state seat in the recently concluded state election with 10,680 votes - more than a 9,000 vote majority over three other contenders.

Perai rep S Sundarajoo


Meanwhile, Sundarajoo was elated with his appointment, saying he could have been chosen due to his background as a developer.

According to him, he quit his corporate position after 37 years, even before DAP offered him to run in Perai.

"The moment I decided to go into politics to serve the rakyat, I relinquished all (corporate) positions and business interests," he told the Malay daily.

Sundarajoo said he plans to build more affordable and low-cost houses in Perai and pledged to fix dilapidated projects that were more than 30 years old.