January local elections for Penang?

Come January, Penang may finally see its long-awaited dream return with the state government enforcement of the Local Council Election (Penang Island and Province Wellesley) Enactment 2012.

The Election Commission (EC) would be informed about the matter once the date was set, said state exco member for local government and traffic management Chow Kon Yeow (left).

“We would then wait for a reply to see if the EC would conduct the elections or otherwise,” he told reporters today after launching the Penang Animal Sanctuary charity food fair at the Esplanade.

And if the EC declines to conduct the polls, Chow said the matter would be brought to the courts to decide.

Chow, who is Tanjung MP, was referring to the polls which had been banned since the days of Confrontation.

After much campaigning by civil society groups, the enactment was gazetted in July this year, while the state received a printer’s copyin August.

This effort, however, was not welcomed by the federal government.

The Penang enactment was outrightly rejected, with Local Government Minister Chor Chee Heung claiming that it is “null and void”.

According to the Local Government Act 1971, only the Election Commission has the authority to conduct local council elections.

Meanwhile, the state would be appointing councillors for the Penang Island Municipal Council and the Seberang Perai Municipal Council.

“The appointments have to be done as the enactment forbade any more councillors via appointments once it came into force,” explained Chow, who is also Tanjung MP.

“The appointed batch can at least serve for a year while we deal with the EC,” he added.

Mending ties with media

In another development, the DAP has requested Bukit Mertajam MP Chong Eng to help mend ties between the party and the Chinese language media.

Chong Eng will organise a meeting with media representatives after the current parliamentary sitting is over later this month.

Strained ties were visible between the two when a book containing articles written by reporters criticising Chief Minister and DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng was found circulating in Penang.