The Penang government has issued a two-week ultimatum to the federal government to agree to local elections being conducted in the state.

Failing this, Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng will initiate legal action to declare that the state government has jurisdiction to conduct elections for the Penang Island Municipal Council and Seberang Prai Municipal Council.

NONE “(We)  take the position that local government is a state matter under the Ninth Schedule and Article 113(4) of the federal constitution,” he told a press conference today.

Penang will be the third state to take legal action, after Kelantan and Selangor, and will name the federal government and the Election Commission as respondents, if the need arises.

P Ramakrishnan, 75, the former president of social reform movement Aliran, is the second plaintiff in the application by the Penang government.

The suit will “bypass” the High Court and be filed directly at the Federal Court.

Lim said the state government will seek a declaration that Section 15 of the Local Government Act 1976, which abolished local government elections nationwide, is invalid or inoperative in Penang.

In addition, it will ask for a declaration that an enactment passed by the state legislature provides for the Election Commission to conduct local government elections in Penang.

Lawyer Tommy Thomas, who will represent the plaintiffs, explained that the constitution allows for proceedings to bypass a lower court whenever there is a dispute or  clash between a state enactment and federal law.

azlan “(In this case) there is a dispute between Penang enactment and federal law as to who governs local elections.”

He said Articles 4(3), 4(4) and 128 allow for the case to be taken directly to the apex court.

"But we need to get leave from federal court first and, quite unusually, the law specifically (states that) no costs (will be imposed),” he said.

Should the plaintiff fail to get leave, there will be no avenue for appeal and or to apply for a judicial review.

"So, this is our first and last avenue," he said.

However, he expressed confidence, saying that getting leave "is not a problem" as there are many precedents.

Lim observed that the court has never denied any state government leave whenever it has filed an application.

Stepping up pressure on BN

If the Penang government obtains leave, it will serve as a precursor for other states, gradually pressuring the BN to submit to the will on the people who want local elections, noted Lim.

"For us, this is the final effort to force the federal government to agree (to this), " he said.

Asked about the timing of the suit, Lim admitted it has everything to do with the upcoming general election.

“If we wait until after the general election, the BN will be under no pressure to (respond to restoring the third vote)," he said.

"It's just like people forcing the BN to give them money because the election is coming ... the people have everything to gain."