Federal Territories Minister Khalid Abdul Samad hopes the council of Kuala Lumpur MPs he set up last year will help dispel the misconceptions of certain groups on local elections undermining Malay interests.
"I used this approach to show that if people's representatives are elected (to local government), it will not jeopardise the interests of any race or group," he told a press conference in Putrajaya today.
Khalid said fears of marginalisation due to local council elections were unfounded, as candidates fielded by political parties would have candidates from all races.
He added that Malay interests had been jeopardised by the previous BN administration, pointing to the scandals surrounding Tabung Haji and Felda.
Plans in the past to launch local elections have repeatedly been thwarted by fears that Malays would be marginalised in urban areas where they may be larger non-Malay populations.
Local Government and Housing Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin previously said her ministry was pushing forward with plans to hold such elections, with a thorough study expected by 2021.
The Kuala Lumpur MPs council referred to by Khalid, officially known as the Ministers Council, is co-chaired by all 11 lawmakers representing the capital city.
Khalid said they will serve as a check-and-balance on him as the minister, in the same way that assemblypersons keep a menteri besar in check.
He listed the council as one of his achievements in his first year as the Federal Territories minister.
If everything goes well with the council, he added, he has plans to table amendments in Parliament to allow the council to be governed by law. - Mkini
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