Penang bent on council polls

State wants local govt elections restored despite objections from ministry and EC

GEORGE TOWN: Penang is taking another step to restore local government elections by tabling an enactment in the state assembly sitting from April 30.

This is despite objections from the Housing and Local Government Ministry and the Election Commission’s (EC) stand that it would not conduct the elections.

State Local Government and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow said state legal adviser Datuk Faiza Zulkifli was finalising the draft of the “Enactment for Local Government Elections in Penang Island and Province Wellesley”.

“We will hold a public forum to gather feedback on the draft when it is ready,” he said here yesterday.

He said the state government would take legal action if the Federal Government refused to give consent for the elections.

“It will be up to the courts to decide whether the enactment is ultra vires the Federal Constitution.

He said the state government would also conduct briefing sessions for the public on how to vote in the elections.

The state assembly passed a resolution on Aug 11, 2009, urging the Federal Government to take action to reinstate local government elections.

The holding of the local government elections in Penang was contained in the DAP’S manifesto in the last general election.

A three-man legal panel comprising Datuk Yeo Yang Poh, Tommy Thomas and Malik Imtiaz had advised the state government that the reintroduction of local government elections was within the powers of the state government.

However, EC chairman Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusof had said there was no enabling law for the state to hold the elections.

On Jan 17, Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Seri Chor Chee Heung said that as far as the Federal Government was concerned, local government elections were a “no go” because there has been no constitutional provision for it since 1976.