With myth busted, no reason to stop local govt polls, say experts

 

Zuraida Kamaruddin had been a strong advocate of local government elections when she was with PKR but has since changed her stance, acccording to critics.

PETALING JAYA: After an electoral watchdog debunked the myth that non-Malays will monopolise councils if local government elections are held, experts are asking the government to respond accordingly and show the results of its own three-year-old report.

The local government experts welcomed a research report titled “Reintroduction of Local Government Elections in Malaysia” launched by Bersih 2.0 yesterday.

Commenting on the report, lawyer Derek Fernandez said the concerns of racial conflicts raised by certain politicians were just an excuse for power politics and patronage.

He also questioned the rejection of the polls as a means to avoid a monopoly by non-Malays in cities. The Bersih 2.0 study showed that the claim that non-Malays would dominate local authorities in the cities was outdated.

Derek Fernandez.

Fernandez said if elections were responsible for racial discord, then elections at all levels should be banned.

“How is it that we can have federal and state elections without any racial disharmony? Why should local government elections be any different?

“There are 155 local authorities and like state and federal seats, the coalition system in parties will affect the electability of candidates and balance out any concerns.

“The thing is, people don’t care about your racial background, people will only vote for you if you’re capable of doing the job,” he told FMT.

Danesh Prakash Chacko, the author of the report, noted that Malays are the majority population and many Malays now live in cities and urban centres.

Last year, PAS Youth chief Khairil Nizam argued that there were more Chinese in urban areas compared with other ethnicities and that local council elections could cause a greater divide in living standards among ethnic groups.

Danesh had dismissed this claim by citing the 2010 census data, which showed that the Chinese community only constituted a majority in two councils – the Kampar District Council in Perak, and the then Penang Island Municipal Council (now Penang Island City Council).

Of eight local authorities with city status, two – Alor Setar and Kuala Terengganu – had a Malay supermajority (above 66% of the local council) while two other city councils – Shah Alam and Melaka – had a Malay majority.

The 2010 data also showed that of the remaining four cities with a mixed population, only Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh had a Chinese majority.

Raja Kamarul Bahrin.

Meanwhile, former deputy housing minister Raja Kamarul Bahrin slammed the current minister Zuraida Kamaruddin for refusing to release the ministry’s report on the local council elections.

Previously, Zuraida said her ministry had been working on the paper since June 2018, adding that it would be forwarded to the Cabinet for discussion.

However, after objections from certain MPs, she decided not to go ahead with presenting the paper.

“Zuraida (who was once with PKR) was very keen on the local elections although some others were not too sure of it. Now, that she is in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, why is she withholding the report which she so strongly advocated before?

“The ministry has already spent time and money to conduct the study for the last three years. She must table it, do not let it go to waste,” Raja Kamarul told FMT.

Fernandez concurred with Raja Kamarul on the matter, saying “Zuraida should present the election model and let the public decide.” - FMT