Putrajaya’s recent excuse that local council elections in Malaysia may give rise to conflicts related to race is certainly not well-received as it implies a lot of negativity in our democratically elected country.
In fact, such excuses are mere speculations at best as Malaysians have matured enough to know the perils of conflicts on everyone, including our economy.
Sipa (Sarawak Institute for Public Affairs) firmly believes that local elections will give rise to accountability, transparency and boost performances of local councils.
Foremost, local council elections are the democratic rights of the people to decide on the choice of their candidates to run the councils. Residents are the tax payers of the council’s jurisdiction so they should have a say in the running of their own municipal areas and not others who are politically appointed as is the practice now.
Every municipality wants its councils to be answerable to it and not to some party leaders as more often than not many of these political appointees are not professionals and lack the skills to do the work expected.
By having elections, residents can be assured that those elected to the local councils are qualified, accountable and are only there based on merits.
Malaysia has only about 146 local councils, so managing these should not be too much of an issue related to race or other considerations as the residents of municipalities want their councils to be proactive, responsible and accountable because it is all based on the needs of that particular municipality.
Naturally, some local councils are performing well and accountable but this should not stop us from holding local council elections, as elections will definitely improve the services and expectations and will free us of the stench of political interferences in these councils.
After more than 60 years of independence and setting ourselves up for the push to join the ranks of developed nations status, the push for local council elections will show to the world that Malaysia as a multi-racial, multi-religious and multi-ethnic nation that can progress under the rule of law.
PHILIP WONG,
Kuching
• Philip Wong is the Director for Sarawak Institute for Public Affairs (Sipa). He is an entrepreneur and author with a Masters in Development Economics and is passionate about travelling, having visited over 100 countries to date. Sarawak Institute for Public Affairs is dedicated to the betterment of Sarawak and Malaysia for a more prosperous, harmonious and fair society.
