COMMENT | There was a time long ago, before most Malaysians now living were born, that we elected our own local government.

We were participating in democracy as far back as 1951, three-quarters of a century ago, when Georgetown in Penang elected a council, way before 1957’s national independence.

Where’s all that gone? What led to the suspension and effective abolition of local council elections to be replaced by a bunch of usually sycophantic appointed councillors picked by the ruling state government of the day, and the death of democracy at the local level?

Whatever the background to this...