Don’t assume Malays oppose local elections, says Nik Nazmi

 Former minister says surveys challenge the perception that Malay voters are against restoring local elections.

Former minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad said concerns that local elections would marginalise Malays were rooted in historical anxieties that no longer reflected Kuala Lumpur’s current demographic reality.

KUALA LUMPUR:

Former natural resources and environmental sustainability minister Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad has cautioned against assuming that Malays oppose local government elections, saying surveys suggest otherwise.

Speaking at a forum on local government elections here, Nik Nazmi cited a poll he commissioned which showed that a majority of Malay voters in Kuala Lumpur supported some form of local elections.

The Bersama leader also cited a Merdeka Center survey which found that most Malays nationwide supported having an elected mayor for the city.

“So this shows that whether politicians want to believe it or not, the perception doesn’t reflect the reality,” he said.

Nik Nazmi said concerns that local elections would marginalise Malays were rooted in historical anxieties that no longer reflected Kuala Lumpur’s current demographic reality.

He said such concerns could be traced to the colonial era and the period surrounding independence, when Malays faced economic disadvantages and demographic uncertainty.

“On the issue of racial concerns, I think the problem – and much of this is similar to our racial politics in general – is a legacy of the colonial era,” he said.

Nik Nazmi said Kuala Lumpur’s demographics had changed over the decades, with Malays now making up the largest single community in the capital at 48%.

“If you’re talking about voting, the number may be even higher than the Chinese community, which means that within the next five to 10 years, the majority of voters in Kuala Lumpur will likely be Malays,” he said.

He said some senior politicians continued to carry anxieties shaped by the political and demographic circumstances of an earlier era.

Nik Nazmi said concerns over Malay representation in Kuala Lumpur should be addressed through the design of the electoral system, rather than being used as a reason to rule out local elections.

He said an elected Kuala Lumpur mayor would not be practical under Malaysia’s Westminster-style political system.

Instead, he suggested exploring other models of representation – including proportional or party-list systems – which could also address concerns around racial and gender representation.

Local elections were held in the past before being suspended in 1965 and effectively abolished a year later.

A royal commission set up in 1965 called for local elections to be restored; however, the federal government decided against it and enacted the Local Government Act 1976, effectively suspending local elections.

The law empowers state governments to appoint mayors, presidents, and councillors, rather than having them elected by the public.

In 2008, the Pakatan Harapan-led states of Penang and Selangor attempted to revive the polls, to meet election promises, but to no avail.

In February 2024, housing and local government minister Nga Kor Ming said local council elections were not a priority as his ministry was focussing on other areas – such as road safety and cleaner public toilets and drains. - FMT