Suhakam commissioner and former judge Harun Hashim will be speaking at a forum organised by a local residents group in USJ, Selangor to debate reinstatement of local elections to improve governance.

The forum titled 'Is it time for Local Elections?' is aimed at mobilising residents, residents' associations and other citizen groups to discuss and take action to improve local governance.

Aside from Harun, panel speakers at the forum include senior regional advisor to the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP)'s The Urban Governance Initiative Dr Anwar Fazal; Subang Jaya state assembly person Lee Hwa Beng and USM Associate Professor Dr Goh Ban Lee.

Organised by the USJ Residents' Association and the USJ.com.my e-community, the event is scheduled to take place on Sunday from 9am to 1pm at the 3K Complex in Subang Jaya.

Sought after appointments

According to event organiser Premesh Chandran, the call for reinstatement of local elections has been gaining support, after recent scandals involving municipal officials.

"There is widespread support for calls for good local governance, across the political spectrum, as everybody suffers when local authorities fail in their duties.

"However, members of the establishment do not support the call for local elections, given that it will take away a form of patronage and political power from the party," he said.

Premesh said appointments to local councils are highly sought after by aspiring politicians since it provides them with the opportunity to perform and be noticed by party leaders.

At the moment, municipal council presidents are appointed by the respective state governments.

"All ruling political parties in the Barisan Nasional are in favour of the current appointment system. Each party is allowed to appoint a certain number of councillors and use the opportunity to reward individuals and support particular factions within the party," he said.

Recent scandals

Historically, municipal councillors were elected. However, in 1965, the government suspended local government elections following several incidents whereby local councils dominated by opposition parties adopted independent positions from the Alliance federal government.

Debate

over possible reintroduction of local elections was sparked off by nationwide outrage over several scandals in recent months involving top municipal council officials.

The scandals included the corruption charges against Ampang Jaya Municipal Council enforcement chief Abdul Kudus Ahmad (who has since been sacked and charged) and the billboards licensing controversy involving the Petaling Jaya Municipal Council.

The Ipoh Municipal Council chief was also the target of media scrutiny after he embarked on a morality campaign against couples holding hands in public.

Those interested in attending the forum may contact Premesh at 017-8783900 or Mano at 012-3161732. Further details of the forum is also available at www.mylocalelections.com