Bersih urges Zuraida not to surrender in push for local elections
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin was urged not to surrender in her push for local government elections and remain steadfast like how she did in the face of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's objections when he was the prime minister.
Speaking with Malaysiakini, Bersih chairperson Thomas Fann (photo, above) said Zuraida should engage Umno and PAS to listen to their reasons for rejecting local elections.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin was urged not to surrender in her push for local government elections and remain steadfast like how she did in the face of Dr Mahathir Mohamad's objections when he was the prime minister.
Speaking with Malaysiakini, Bersih chairperson Thomas Fann (photo, above) said Zuraida should engage Umno and PAS to listen to their reasons for rejecting local elections.
"She was steadfast when Mahathir (said 'no' to local elections in December 2018). She said she would continue to prepare the working paper. She still made the argument for the restoration (of the third vote).
"We want her to continue in that mood because she believes in it. She should not surrender without trying to engage them (Umno and PAS) and hear their concerns," he said.
Fann believed the civil society, the opposition or some quarters in PN are with her in restoring the third vote.
Called the third vote, local council elections were last held in Malaysia in 1965.
Pakatan Harapan's 14th general election manifesto did not promise to restore local government elections but stated that it would “strengthen local democracy” and make local councils more accountable to the people they serve.
It also promised to amend the Local Government Act 1976 to reflect these aspirations.
Last week, Zuraida (photo) said her ministry was still pushing ahead with plans - which she initiated when serving in the Pakatan Harapan administration - to initiate local government polls to empower local governments.
However, government lawmakers from Umno and PAS voiced their objections to the local elections.
In December 2018, PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang was reported to have said that local elections would only be beneficial to the Chinese.
Earlier this month, Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan argued that local elections would divide multi-racial Malaysians.
Fann questioned if Umno and PAS opposed local elections based on an "outdated" racial demography of the 154 local governments.
He said even Kuala Lumpur and urban areas like Petaling Jaya had become Malay-majority areas over the years.
The remaining Chinese-majority areas have been reduced to six, including Sibu, Kuching Selatan, Ipoh, Penang Island and Iskandar Puteri.
"(On the concern over local election may heighten the racial disparity), this may be the situation if you take the data from the 1960s (on the) concentration of non-Malays in urban areas," Fann said.
The Bersih chairperson said there is a need to discuss and debate extensively, including in Parliament where both parties can present their arguments with facts and data instead of merely voicing an opinion.
"They need to express their concerns in a more concrete manner with data and facts so that we can examine and discuss whether these (facts) are valid," he said.
Fann said they can arrive at a solution to address their concerns.
"If their assumption were based on old data instead of current data, then it is urban Malays that are disenfranchised by not allowing them to vote in local government elections.
"The people who live in the same neighbourhood will share the same concerns when it comes to services delivered by local authorities.
"Instead of being a dividing factor, I see the ability for a community to vote and come together as a uniting factor," he added.
Fann also said the government could even set a racial and gender quota to ensure equal representation and certain sectors, such as businesses and taxi drivers should be given voices too.
Meanwhile, Youth group Undi Saksama also urged Zuraida to continue to push for local elections.
"According to 2018 statistics, 75.6 percent of the Malaysian population resides in urban areas. This includes 69.37 percent of bumiputera nationally," said Undi Saksama co-founder Tharma Pillay.
"Restoring local council elections is not an issue of racial politics, but it is an issue of democratic representation and empowerment.
"This is because the vast majority of Malaysians live, work and grow up in urban areas.
"We are willing to assist Zuraida and the ministry to ensure that the public understands the value of local council elections, to help convince her colleagues in PN," he said.
Undi Saksama is a youth-led campaign against gerrymandering and malapportionment in Malaysia. Linked to Undi18, it advocates for a more proportional and democratic electoral system.
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