Local elections in Malaysia were suspended in the 1960s and later replaced by a system of appointed heads, with mayors of city councils as well as presidents of municipal and district councils being appointed by the state governments.
On Dec 17, Kuala Lumpur DAP chairman and Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai called on Putrajaya to start local government elections in the capital city first to bolster democracy – a suggestion that Umno Youth chief Dr Akmal Saleh labelled as “insensitive and provocative” and federal territories PAS Youth chief Azmer Syazwan Ahmad Suparmin claimed has led to “disharmony among the people”.
Speaking to reporters here today, Nga, who is also the DAP deputy chairman, said the government is in no hurry to reintroduce local council elections.
“My answer is always consistent when it comes to local council elections. Since I was appointed housing and local government minister, the ministry’s priority has been to focus on (other) sectors,” he said during a visit to a bazaar in Seri Kembangan.
“Our country has just recovered from political upheaval, so now is the time to calm the political situation and focus on work that can benefit the public.
“Everything will happen at the right time. Local council elections … are not the ministry’s priority at the moment,” he said, adding that his ministry is now focussed on rolling out 5,000 public facilities like playgrounds, toilets and hawker centres each year.
“Maybe in 10 years when the ministry completes 50,000 public facilities … maybe that’s the time (to have local council elections),” he said in jest.
Nga added that his ministry has rolled out 5,196 projects worth RM700 million this year, which he said was the most number of projects implemented in a year since Malaysia’s independence.
Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that Syazwan lodged a police report against Tan for his proposal, which he claimed had sparked racial tensions among the public.
On Tuesday, the federal territories PKR Youth wing lodged a police report against federal territories PAS commissioner Azhar Yahya over his statement about local elections.
Bernama reported that the wing’s chief, Azfar Aza Azhar, said the PAS leader’s statement – in which he claimed that local elections could cause racial tensions – was factually wrong and racist.
In a post on PAS’s X account on Monday, Azhar claimed local council elections would result in an alleged monopoly by Malaysian Chinese.
“What guarantees are there that Malays will win seats and have a majority voice to ensure that the rights and privileges of Islam and Malays are preserved as stipulated in Article 3 of the Federal Constitution?”
Wangsa Maju police chief Ashari Abu Samah confirmed receiving Azfar’s report and said the case had been referred to the Bukit Aman classified crime investigation unit as it touches on 3R (race, religion and royalty) issues.