Malays will lose out in local council elections if these are re-introduced in the 146 local councils nationwide, said former Kajang municipal council chief Muhd Khusrin Munawi.

Now the director of the Selangor Islamic affairs department, he was commenting on Deputy Minister in the Prime Minister's Department and People's Progressive Party (PPP) president M Kayveas' ( photo )statement yesterday that local councils lack transparency and accountability.

According to Khusrin, the majority of Malays live in the suburbs and in rural areas. They would, therefore, be under-represented should elections be instituted in getting public representatives into city or municipal councils.

"Local elections would lead to Malays being marginalised, because communities under local municipal and city authorities are dominated by non-Malays," said Khusrin, when contacted.

"Under the current political environment, it is better that the current system (of appointments) be allowed to continue."

Municipal-level elections have been suspended since 1965 and councillors have been appointed by state governments in the majority of cases.

'Secret societies'

Opening the PPP annual general meeting in Kuala Lumpur yesterday, Kayveas had noted that councillors run local governments as ' secret societies '.

He said unelected councillors approve projects behind closed doors without consulting representatives of citizen groups.

Kayveas also rapped councils for wasting ratepayers' money. While he stopped short of demanding the return of local council elections, he said this option should not be ruled out.

"A better alternative could be to appoint more councilors from PPP so that we play the role of check and balance," he added.

Meanwhile, Shah Alam mayor Ramli Mahmud, when contacted, refused to comment on the matter, saying: "Kayveas is a minister, who are we to say anything."