Despite the oft-hyped positives of reintroducing the local council elections to our communities, several practical issues have been raised as to the feasibility of its implementation.

NONE Shah Alam parliamentarian Khalid Samad ( right ) said that in principle, the notion of having local elections is sound as they enhance the democratisation of the country. However, he says, difficulties lie in its implementation.

He claimed that the execution had not been discussed in detail and there should be a committee from the Pakatan Rakyat administration looking into this.

"There are a lot of pre-conceived ideas as to how the local council elections will come into place," he said.

"But it is too premature for someone to agree or disagree as most details on how to run the election had not been worked out," noted Khalid.

When asked why it had taken so long for the Pakatan administration to initiate the implementation of local council elections, Khalid said there are more pressing matters to be dealt with.

"We have to handle the issues of policies, new administrations, civil servants and most importantly to stabilise the government," he explained.

But now, he said the state government feels strong enough to implement new policies and that "this is the right time". At the same time, he reasoned that Pakatan needs to have a strong proposal and justification of the elections' importance.

"We ought to have a clear concept so that clarifications to the rakyat can be done well and we can counter objections raised by Barisan Nasional," he added.

Improve service quality

Meanwhile, PAS Selangor information chief Roslan Shahrir is of the opinion that the priority of the administration is to improve the service quality of the local councillors.

"We are more concerned about the excellence provided by our councillors," he explained.

He said that PAS in Kelantan had governed the state for over 20 years and they have done so without the need for local council elections.

"I do not think that this is an immediate need," he said.

Nevertheless, he stressed that transparency and interaction with the community is more important and beneficial for the rakyat .

NONE "I do not think that the people are concerned about who is serving them; they just want the councillors to fulfil their responsibilities," he added.

Roslan claimed that as long as the government is performing, a local council election is not a priority.

He further pointed out that the administration of the local council elections would not be easy as Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak had publicly stated his objections against the implementation.

Although PAS may have some reservations, he said that they would participate if clearance is given by the Elections Commission.

 

  Tomorrow: NGOs address feasibility issues