DAP will give 'unwavering support' for Zuraida's local election push

DAP deputy secretary-general Teresa Kok said her party will give its unwavering support for Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin's push for local government elections.

Kok (photo, above) expressed surprise at Zuraida's complaint that her former Pakatan Harapan colleagues did not support her when then prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad shot down her push for local government elections.

Kok said she had only heard Zuraida's public statement on local government elections but had not seen the minister present any cabinet paper on local government elections during the Harapan government.

"If she is serious in pushing for local government elections, she should start holding a series of dialogues with various stakeholders and NGOs nationwide, and she should then present a study and a concise proposal to the Cabinet, rather than expecting her cabinet colleagues (or former cabinet colleagues) to support her verbal media statements," she said.

Earlier today, Zuraida told the Dewan Rakyat that she is targeting the middle of 2021 to present a cabinet paper on local government elections.

Zuraida added that two committees have already been formed, one comprising government agencies to look at the legal, financial and mechanism aspect and another to engage NGOs and community leaders.

However, Amanah's Pokok Sena MP Mahfuz Omar questioned if Zuraida can garner support from her new PAS colleagues in the Perikatan Nasional government as they are known to be opposed to local government elections.

Zuraida responded by saying that she also did not find support under the previous Pakatan Harapan government when Mahathir shot her down on local government elections but believed she can still push for it given the right method.

Kok, who is the Seputeh MP, said local government elections are a cherished issue for many MPs in urban areas and stressed that "local democracy" has been part of Harapan and its predecessor Pakatan Rakyat's manifesto.

"The DAP has been championing local government elections and local democracy for decades.

"Although the DAP is not in the PN government, DAP is prepared to engage Zuraida to formulate policy on local government elections, and she can then present a cabinet paper on this.

"The DAP assures her that we will give her our unwavering support in this initiative," she said.

Kok said Zuraida (photo) has been the housing and local government since 2018 and therefore has had ample time to plan a comprehensive policy on local government elections.

"As Mahathir is not the prime minister of the PN government now, I hope Zuraida can speed up her proposed policy on local government elections and need not drag it till mid-2021 to present the cabinet paper on this subject," the DAP lawmaker said.

Two weeks after the 14th general election, Zuraida announced that her ministry was planning to push for local government elections within three years.

However, in Dec 2018, Mahathir declared that the then government was not planning to hold local government elections as "it could lead to racial conflicts".

Mahathir made the declaration in Zuraida's presence at a press conference at a local government event.

Shortly after Mahathir's comment, Zuraida maintained that she would continue to push for local elections.

“The ministry registers the prime minister’s concerns in his statement about local council elections should they be held at the current time.

“As a ministry tasked with local government issues, the ministry will continue studying the implementation of local government elections as an option to increase the democratisation of government administration,” she had said.

In August last year, Zuraida said she would continue to try and convince Mahathir on local elections.

However, Mahathir's Harapan government collapsed in late February after Zuraida with nine other PKR MPs defected and Mahathir's own party, under the leadership of Bersatu president Muhyiddin Yassin, pulled out from the coalition.

Together, Muhyiddin's Bersatu and the PKR defectors formed the new PN government with BN, PAS, GPS, PBS and Star. - Mkini