Umno will never allow local council election - Lokman tells DAP

A DAP leader’s call for a local council election to be held in Kuala Lumpur has ruffled feathers in Umno.

Umno supreme council member Lokman Adam said his party would never allow this to happen.

Interestingly, he also dubbed Federal Territories DAP chief Tan Kok Wai’s suggestion as an internal movement by the “Lim dynasty” to sabotage DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke’s leadership.

“After Lim Kit Siang and Lim Guan Eng’s comments on the non-Malay prime minister issue, it’s Tan’s turn to repeat the Lim dynasty’s old desire for local council election.

“We want to tell Kit Siang, we will never allow local council election to be held, we will fight it to the end!

“Stop being a tool of (former PM) Dr Mahathir Mohamad and sabotaging your own party,” Lokman (above) said on Facebook last night.

Tan suggested restoring the local council election yesterday, starting with Kuala Lumpur, to give locals a democratic say in how the capital city is run.

At present, Kuala Lumpur only has MPs, and the federal government runs Kuala Lumpur City Hall.

‘Chinese are majority’

In the past, critics including those from Umno had warned that the local council election would lead to racial instability as Malays would reportedly lose power in such polls.

Such criticisms were revived after Tan’s call yesterday as espoused by Umno Veterans’ Association chief Mustapha Yaakub.

“Umno veterans understand DAP’s desire to turn Kuala Lumpur into a local government that is represented by members who represent the Chinese, especially DAP.

“For sure, if such elections are held, Chinese representatives will easily win in areas where they are the majority,” he said in a statement yesterday.

He added that a local council election in Kuala Lumpur would lead to calls for it to also be held in major cities such as Penang Island, Ipoh, and Johor Bahru.

Separately, Umno Youth chief Dr Mohamad Akmal Saleh called out both Tan and Kit Siang for their “highly unnecessary statements” that could potentially trigger disharmony among Malaysians.

”I believe that the unity government itself is uncomfortable (with such statements).

“It is tantamount to the intentional provocation of existing ‘status-quo’ and understanding among races that we enjoy,” he said.

”Such provocative views only open up room for discussions and differences of opinions that widen feelings of unease,” he added.

Akmal stressed that Umno Youth will not compromise on such suggestions or actions and that being a part of the same government is not equivalent to a tacit agreement on all matters.

“This is not a DAP government, but one which is formed with the presence of Umno, and so we will not compromise on any decisions that affect the interests of Islam, Malays and the Malay rulers,” he said.

‘Nightmare for Malays’

Perikatan Nasional lawmaker Wan Ahmad Fayhsal Wan Ahmad Kamal also spoke out on the matter.

“Bit by bit, Kit Siang’s Malaysian dream is set to be fulfilled under the UMDAP movement,” he said on X.

UMDAP is a portmanteau of Umno and DAP.

Wan Fayhsal portrayed the so-called Kit Siang Malaysian dream as a nightmare for Malays.

Also from PN, Federal Territories PAS commissioner Azhar Yahya said many DAP representatives have already been elected in Kuala Lumpur and surrounding areas.

He pointed out that there are also other existing agencies and individuals in charge, including the latest appointment of Dr Zaliha Mustafa as minister in the Prime Minister’s Department for the federal territory.

”More than that, PAS views Tan’s proposal as one that is dangerous.

“This is because of the imbalanced breakdown of the population in the Federal Territory according to races,” Azhar said in repeating claims of potential domination of one race in traditional DAP-held seats.

The last time Malaysia held a local council election was in 1963. The next round, which was supposed to be held the following year, was suspended.

The temporary suspension became permanent in 1976 when Parliament passed the Local Government Act resulting in the abolishment of the local government election altogether and only provided for the appointment of local councillors.

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