Local council polls a good ideas as Malaysians more mature now, says analyst

KUALA LUMPUR: Political analysts are giving the thumbs up to proposals to resume local council elections.

However, they said, the public must be told how this would affect their local councils.

Universiti Malaya Centre for Democracy and Election director Associate Professor Dr Hamidin Abd Hamid said the practice of holding council elections ended in the 1970s.

“Local elections were stopped because there was too much political involvement,” he told the New Straits Times yesterday, but noted that Malaysian society was much more mature today.

“We saw this in the recent general election, when people elected a new government to run the country.

“Council elections will allow people to participate in the country’s lowest administrative level.”

Hamidin said this was better than installing political appointees, adding that there had been complaints about the resultant lack of transparency in local council administration.

However, he said, it might take more than three years to study the mechanisms for holding local elections.

“The government needs to decide who should be involved in the elections. Should the Election Commission be part of it too?

“The government also needs to consider who can or cannot contest.”

Universiti Utara Malaysia political analyst Dr Fuad Othman said the public should be educated on why it was necessary to have council elections.

He said candidates should meet certain criteria, such as a certain level of educational, integrity and good relationship with the community.

On Saturday, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin was reported as saying that council elections could be held in three years.