COMMENT Leave Truth to the police and us; we know the Good;

We build the Perfect City time shall never alter;

Our Law shall guard you always like a cirque of mountains. - WH Auden

Like most of the world, Malaysia has increasingly urbanised with about 72 percent of Malaysians living in cities and towns. Our urban centres reflect Malaysia’s multi-ethnic population. More Malays now live in urban areas, and the majority are from the low-income group.

One of Malaysia’s urban policy objectives is to discourage rural-urban migration.

It was reported that PAS chief Abdul Hadi Awang “rejected the need for local elections on the basis that it would promote instability, increase the gap between rural and urban development, and could lead to another May 13, 1969 riot in the country”.

Umno MP Abdul Rahman Dahlan ( right ) then supported Hadi’s view that local council elections would result in race riots in this country.

More importantly, Hadi and Abdul Rahman have both drawn attention to the debate on the importance of citizen participation in the administration of local governments.

Malaysia has three levels of government: central, state and local government. There are 149 local councils, including the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL). They are known as city councils, municipal councils and district councils.

The power of local councils is derived from the Local Government Act 1976. However, DBKL, Kota Kinabalu City Hall, Putrajaya and Pasir Gudang, all come under special enactments.

The power of local councils is limited by the Local Government Act. Under this Act, they oversee the disposal of waste, preparation and sale of food, operations of markets, sanitation, parking, etc.

Local authorities further oversee the implementation of the Town and Country Planning Act and the Street, Building and Drainage Act. These empower the local councils to regulate and control land development, including buildings, roads and drains.

Limited powers of the local authorities

The powers of local authorities in Malaysia are actually limited. The centralisation of government functions and privatisation of many of these services have taken away the powers of local councils.

The privatisation of waste management, electricity and water are good examples, as no local authorities provide these services anymore.

Except for Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya, the lack of money is a problem for other local authorities. Many are not able to bid for large federal funded projects as they lack expertise as well.

Has the drive for more money resulted in pollution, loss of urban forests, too many cafes, coffee shops, karaokes, massage parlours, tuition centres and traffic congestion?  

But in fairness to local councils, most of our cities and towns reflect the different cultures and religions of this country. The mosques, temples, churches, shrines, burial grounds and the varieties of eateries reflect the many cultures living in the urban centres.

From time to time, issues related to transparency and accountability have been raised in the media. In 2003, the Klang Municipal Council spent RM250,000 on 10 thoroughbred horses from Australia and Britain, whereas the Subang Jaya Municipal Council spent RM3 million to build a Millennium Park (a white elephant).

In 2004, the Seberang Perai Municipal Council signed an agreement with a florist in Kuala Lumpur for RM1 to RM5 million of flowers for five years.

These examples indicate that councillors merely rubber-stamped the decisions of committees in the local councils.

Savvy politicians see the advantages of participating in local governance, such as opportunities to be closer to the people, dealing with issues that affect the daily lives of constituents - housing, clean water, better roads, places of recreation, etc.

Politicians can build a faithful following when they improve the lives of the grassroots.

The mayors, presidents and councillors are appointed by the respective state governments. The decisions of the executive councils are absolute. The federal government and not even the urban wellbeing, housing and local government minister, can interfere with the appointments.

 

However, the Local Government Act states that councillors should be appointed from residents of the local authority area, and with experience in local government affairs or professionals from the business sector.

But in reality, local councillors in Malaysia are members of political parties or their supporters.

Without decentralisation of government functions and changes to various legislation - such as the Local Government Act and the implementation of a Political Financing Act - the call for local council elections is not compelling.

 

JOSIE FERNANDEZ wishes to thank Goh Ban Lee, a local council expert who worked with her on local councils, public procurement and accountability issues, and Budi Faisal of Institute Technology Bandung Indonesia for sharing his work on decentralisation and the importance of sustainable urbanisation. However, the opinions expressed here are hers.