First I would to congratulate the opposition parties for victory in five states including the prized states of Selangor, Penang and Perak. Now that they have won the battle, it is time to honour their promises.

While I won’t hold my breath that the price of fuel will be reduced or that we will see our cost of living getting lower, I want transparency in electing local authorities or governments. The opposition can give excuses for not lowering the price of fuel but they can’t give any for not holding local elections.

One of the reasons for our current malaise of bribery and corruption is because local elections were abolished in 1970. Very few of us who were born post-1969 know that a Royal Commission of Inquiry had been set up in June 1965, one of its main tasks being to report and recommend improvements for local authorities.

The Royal Commission submitted its report to the Minister for Local Government and Housing in January 1969, before the occurrence of the racial riots in May 1969. Wary of the perceived perception that local government politics if allowed to continue would be against the national interest and cause further outbreak and violence, the Barisan Nasional-led government then unfortunately abolished the local elections.

As a result, councillors of the local authorities are appointed by the mentri besar or the chief minister. Because these people are elected by their political master, they cannot be regarded as truly independent. And because it is not the rakyat who elected them, they are only responsible to their political master not the rakyat .

Now the people have showed that the do have power to change the state government from Barisan Nasional to opposition. It is my hope that we will be given power not just to elect our wakil rakyat but also the people who will run the local authorities.