Mazlan Ali of Universiti Teknologi Malaysia said introducing local elections would not guarantee efficiency, but rather risk bringing politicking into local government administration.
“A democratic election is more likely to result in excessive politicking because politicians would devote more time to competing for local council seats rather than managing the city,” he told FMT.
He said there was no guarantee that electing councillors would result in an end to corruption. Rather, Mazlan said, corruption might increase because “to compete in elections you need capital, and the local council is the focal point for businesses looking for projects”.
He added that meritocratic appointments would serve the municipality better than elections.
Kuala Lumpur DAP chairman Tan Kok Wai had called on Sunday for a revival of local elections in the capital city.
Tan, the Cheras MP, argued that local elections would provide sustainability and give residents the right to select their city council representatives.
His suggestion was panned not only by the opposition but also within the unity coalition where leaders from Umno called it “provocative”, saying it would put Malays at a disadvantage in Chinese-majority areas.
Meanwhile, Russli Kamaruddin of Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and Azmil Tayeb of Universiti Sains Malaysia said reviving local elections could enhance governance.
Russli said Malaysia had been trapped in racial politics, where appointments were made based on the group one belonged to rather than capability and talent.
“Irrespective of one’s race, if the person performs well as a councillor, everyone in the town will reap benefits from it,” he told FMT.
Azmil added that the people of Kuala Lumpur had been disenfranchised as they could not even hold state assemblymen accountable for local issues.
“Those who would be elected, if local council elections were to be held, would be accountable to the people, not the parties that nominated them,” Azmil said, adding that the people would know who to blame if their issues remained unresolved.