PETALING JAYA: Umno veterans have rejected Kuala Lumpur DAP chairman Tan Kok Wai’s call to reintroduce local elections in Kuala Lumpur.
Umno Veterans’ Club secretary Mustapha Yaakub said Kuala Lumpur’s current governance structure is good enough, as its MPs elected in the general election represent all of the city’s parliamentary constituencies.
“We have council members appointed to represent all communities and to assist the mayor. Why do we need local elections again?” Mustapha said in a statement.
Earlier today, Tan urged the government to start local elections in the capital city first to strengthen its democracy.
The Cheras MP said reintroducing local elections in Kuala Lumpur would provide sustainability and give the residents the right to select their city council representatives.
Local elections in Malaysia were suspended in the 1960s and later replaced by a system of appointed heads, where state mayors of city councils and presidents of municipal and district councils are appointed by the state governments.
Mustapha claimed that DAP had made the suggestion because it was hoping that its representatives would be elected.
He said if local elections were held, its representatives could easily win in Chinese-majority areas.
“If these elections are allowed in Kuala Lumpur, there will be demand for local council elections in Penang, Ipoh, Klang, Melaka, Johor Bahru and others.
“It seems that DAP is still influenced by its old idealism and ethnocentric pressures. This is evident in statements such as those made by Lim Kit Siang regarding the prime minister’s post,” he said. - FMT
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