Lead the way in restoring local councils, Bersih tells Sabah

Bersih says it would be better if village leaders were democratically elected instead of appointed by the state government.

PETALING JAYA: Bersih has urged the Sabah government to take the lead in the deepening of democracy by reinstituting elections for village authorities and local councils.

Reacting to Deputy Chief Minister Jaujan Sambakong’s warning to corrupt village leaders, Bersih chairman Thomas Fann said Sabah should seize the opportunity to set an example to other states in taking the democratic process to grassroots levels.

“Democratisation would give people a sense of ownership over the management of their own communities and the ability to hold elected officials to account,” he told FMT.

This would increase efficiency and reduce corruption, he added.

Jaujan, speaking on Sunday in Semporna, said grassroots leaders such as village heads, native chiefs and members of village management councils would be sacked if found to have abused their power or condoned corruption.

But Fann said it would be better if village leaders were democratically elected instead of appointed by the state government.

This would make them more accountable to the villagers and pressure them to provide good service, he added.

Fann complained that Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin had been slow in keeping her promise to bring about the reintroduction of elections for local councils and village heads.

Zuraida said recently that her ministry was in the midst of studying several local election models.

She added that the government was expected to table bills to amend several laws by the end of 2020 to enable the reinstatement of local government elections. - FMT