Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister M Kayveas today said the way to stem the rot in local councils is for the public bring up problems for discussion, and not by restoring council elections.

Kayveas, who was instrumental in bringing about the sacking of Ampang Jaya Municipal Council (MPAJ) enforcement chief Abdul Kudus Ahmad for alleged corruption, said the public should support a culture of transparency.

"We know that there are problems but these are not surfacing because the people prefer to keep quiet. I think we have to change our culture of being afraid to speak up (and move) to one of (open consultation)," he said when contacted today.

He said he does not advocate the re-introduction of local council elections as this could lead to other problems.

"I am against this because I don't think it will help matters. We already have elections at federal and state levels. If we include local council elections, we would end up with too much politicking and it would cost taxpayers too much money," he said.

'Investigations take time'

On the latest development in the controversy involving the MPAJ enforcement chief, Kayveas said the public should give the authorities more time to investigate and decide if there was sufficient evidence to charge Abdul Kudus for making a false declaration prior to his appointment.

"Give them a chance. It may take some time because (police) investigations tend to take some time. They must first secure witnesses," he said.

Allegations of corruption within the ranks of the Ampang Jaya local councillors surfaced late last month when Kayveas told the press that he had been receiving complaints against top MPAJ officials.

When challenged to do so, he named Abdul Kudus as the enforcement head who had allegedly accepted bribes averaging RM70,000 a month to protect certain businessmen and to tip off 'tontos' on impending enforcement raids.

Abdul Kudus was sacked last week for making a false declaration regarding his bankruptcy status - which is also a chargeable offence. Opposition parties - DAP and Keadilan - and a number of local residents have made police reports against Abdul Kudus.

Selangor Mentri Besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo announced yesterday that MPAJ chief Ahmad Kabit would be removed from his post for failure to act although he knew about the false declaration.

'Image tarnished'

Meanwhile, DAP Selangor today submitted a memorandum to Housing and Local Government Minister Ong Ka Ting, urging that local council elections be restored.

Secretary Ean Yong Hian Wah said an electoral process was necessary to restore public confidence in local councils after the spate of scandals in recent months.

Ean Yong said cited such examples as the unilateral decisions by the Kajang Municipal Council to ban the sale of pork in open-air markets and the unlawful moral policing by the Ipoh and Kuala Lumpur municipal officers.

"For far too long, ratepayers have had to live with the poor quality of services of many local councils, as exemplified by potholes, clogged drains, poor maintenance of parks and green lungs, traffic congestion, irregular collection of garbage and slow or no response to complaints," he said.

"Allegations of graft involving officers have further tarnished the image of local councils."

Ean Yong said local government elections should be re-introduced because the reason for their abolition in 1965 was no longer applicable today. At the time, he said, the move was intended to avoid racial polarisation during the Indonesian Confrontation.

He added that appointed councillors would generally deliver poorer performance because they have no incentive to do better and are not duty-bound to serve the public.

'Greater accountability'

MCA state assemblyperson for Subang Jaya, Lee Hwa Beng, also supported an eventual move towards reinstatement of local council elections, saying this would ensure the accountability of local authorities.

"In my opinion, this is the only way to ensure better accountability and transparency. I have seen it work in countries with third-tier government election," he said.

However, Lee said some problems may accompany such a policy by virtue of the demographic composition of cities with a majority of Chinese Malaysians.

This may result in the election of candidates from the MCA or DAP to the exclusion of others, he said.

As an interim measure, Lee said state governments could consider appointing state assembly representatives from the area as local councillors to make them indirectly accountable to their electorate.

"We can look at the appointment of Batu Tiga state assemblyman (Salamon Selamat) as the chief of the Shah Alam Municipal Council," he explained.

"There is an indirect relationship because he would have to be vary of voter sentiment (on the way he runs the council)."