Let's start with Putrajaya to revive local council election

 

 The local government election was the norm from the time of our country’s independence. It was only abolished in 1965. Since then local governments have been led by appointees chosen in a non-transparent way by political party leaders.

This has resulted in an unfortunate situation, where residents who are displeased with the performance of their local governments are unable to do anything about it.

All over Malaysia we hear problems about flooding, blocked drains, pollution, and poorly maintained infrastructure being unresolved for years or even decades.

Indeed, there is little motivation for local governments to act in the best interest of the people, since they are accountable to political party leaders, not to the citizens whom they are supposed to serve.

Federal Territories DAP chief Tan Kok Wai’s call for the local election to resume in Kuala Lumpur has drawn opposition from coalition partner Umno.

Umno leaders oppose the local election in Kuala Lumpur, ostensibly because they fear Malays will lose power in the Kuala Lumpur City Hall.

Better choice

First, let us address that this fear is unfounded. City demographics are very different from how it was in the 1960s. In the past few decades, many Malays have moved to urban areas, including Kuala Lumpur. Any elected mayor of these cities would need considerable Malay support.

But Kuala Lumpur doesn't have to be the starting point for a return of local election. I would suggest that rather than starting with Kuala Lumpur, a place like Putrajaya can be a better choice to begin the return of local democracy.

Putrajaya is run by Perbadanan Putrajaya. Technically, Perbadanan Putrajaya is not a municipal council, but it functions exactly like one. All its leaders are appointed - two by the Selangor menteri besar, and six by the federal territories minister.

This is especially unfair given that Putrajaya is no longer part of Selangor, and Putrajaya voters cannot participate in the Selangor state election to choose the menteri besar.

Very little say

With one parliamentary seat out of 222, Putrajaya voters also have very little say on who the federal territories minister is.

Reforming the Perbadanan Putrajaya Act 1995 to allow Putrajaya citizens to choose the leadership of Perbadanan Putrajaya should not be difficult.

Putrajaya is ethnically homogeneous, with a population of over 90 percent Malay. Hence Umno will not have the excuse that a local election in Putrajaya would threaten Malay power.

Putrajaya is small, with less than 40,000 voting in Putrajaya’s parliamentary election last year. It is a federal territory, so it should be easier for the federal government to implement these elections since they don’t have to coordinate with a state government.

Furthermore, the headquarters of the Election Commission is in Putrajaya, which will make the logistics of organising an election easier.

Thus, Putrajaya would serve as an ideal test case, to gauge the effectiveness of local council election in improving the performance of city councils.

The Pakatan Harapan- BN coalition government should implement this reform without delay. Give the people of Putrajaya the chance to choose their local government. - Mkini

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DARREN ONG CHUNG LEE is PSM Dengkil branch chairperson

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of MMKtT.