KUALA LUMPUR: Holding local government elections will ensure greater participation by the rakyat and better accountability from councillors, said Bar Council’s Law Reform and Special Areas Committee chairman Datuk M. Ramachelvam.
He said Parliament should thus amend the existing laws to enable local elections to be held.
“For now, the state government’s hands are tied,” he said in relation to a motion by the Penang State Assembly on Aug 11 this year calling for local government elections to be held.
The motion, tabled by State Local Govern-ment and Traffic Management Committee chairman Chow Kon Yeow, was passed after a walkout by the 11 Barisan Nasional assemblymen.
The motion also called for amendments to Sections 10 and 15 of the Local Government Act 1976, which did not allow for such local elections.
Malaysia suspended local government elections after the Indonesia-Malaysia confrontation in 1964.
Since then, under the Local Government Act, local government members have been appointed by the state government.
However, Ramachelvam said the council would finalise its position on the legality of holding local elections before coming up with a formal statement.
He was speaking after a forum held at the Bar Council Building here yesterday entitled “Local Government Elections: Now, Later or Never?”
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