GE14 | Putrajaya and all state governments have been urged to restore local council elections as the 14th general election draws near.

Several citizen groups forming the Civil Society Caucus for Policy Reform voted to pass a motion calling for the restoration of the third vote, as local council elections are also called.

KL and Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall (KLSCAH) Youth section member Lee Soo Wei had moved the motion during a caucus meeting.

“The current appointment system of local councillors lacks accountability because they do not need to face discontent from the community, there is no check and balance by the residents if any councillor does not perform.

“It is very unfair for the taxpayers who supposedly determine the direction of local planning and development,” Lee was quoted as saying in a press statement released by the caucus today.

Once a mainstay in Malaysian politics, local council elections were suspended in 1965 following an emergency after Indonesia launched the Konfrontasi movement against what was Malaya at the time.

Presently, local councillors are appointed by state governments with the exception of local councillors serving in federal territories, who are appointed by the Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Ministry.

Twenty-five other motions were passed at the same meeting, held at the KLSCAH on Mac 23.

These include setting up a transitional justice commission to provide a remedy for victims and punish perpetrators of all past wrongdoings under previous regimes; the reinstatement of a 15 percent upper limit in voter disparity among parliamentary seats and the implementation of a proportional electoral system.

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Attendees also voted to pass a call to abolish the present electoral deposit system and replace it with a petition system where to qualify to contest, MP candidates would need to collect 600 signatures while assemblyperson candidates would need to collect 300 signatures.

Furthermore, the caucus passed a motion calling for the government to provide free education from pre-school to tertiary levels.

The Civil Society Caucus for Policy Reform was jointly endorsed by Agora Society, MEONET, Youth Section of the KLSCAH, Teoh Beng Hock Trust for Democracy, OHMSI, Youth Section of Malacca Chinese Assembly Hall, Suara Rakyat Malaysia (Suaram), Malaysians Against Death Penalty and Torture, Persatuan Sahabat Wanita Selangor (PSWS), Persatuan Aktivis Sahabat Alam (Kuasa), Johor Yellow Flame (JYF), Sosialis Alternatif and Gerakan Menuntut Pendidikan Percuma.