The DAP has mocked  Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan's view on local government elections.

National assistant publicity secretary Zairil Khir Johari said Abdul Rahman's remarks reveal either "ignorance or complete disdain and disregard for democracy".

NONE"What a remarkable logic the newly-minted federal minister has ... As an elected representative of the government, he must have found the recent 13th general election to be an unnecessary waste of time,” he said in a statement today.

"Instead of going through all the trouble of seeking a mandate from the people, I am sure he feels that he should have simply been appointed to the cabinet.
 
"As unfortunate as it is for Abdul Rahman to have to go through an unnecessary election, it is even more unfortunate for Malaysians because we are now, as he has put it, stuck with him as a minister for the next five years or so.”

Asked yesterday what he thought about Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng's stance in questioning the federal government on not implementing local elections, Abdul Rahman reportedly said it makes no sense as people already have a choice in choosing leaders.

In certain situations, he had said, local government elections could weaken the performance of town councils and district councils.

NONE“If the persons elected are only popular but incapable in carrying out their duties, eventually we would be forced to deal with them for two or three years during their tenure,” he explained.

“But if they are appointed, we can take action immediately. If he performs badly in six months, the government can interfere and replace him ... When are we going to develop our country if we are always politicking and having elections?"

Zairil described this attitude as "contempt for democracy", adding that Abdul Rahman has missed the point on local elections.

He suggested that Abdul Rahman takes a leaf out of Umno colleague Saifuddin Abdullah’s book, since the latter has repeatedly supported the reinstatement of the third vote in order to restore true “choice” to the people.
 
"The electoral process is a pillar of democracy that is designed to ensure that decision-making authority is tempered by direct accountability," said Zairil, who is also Lim's political secretary.

"Having local government elections means that this accountability will be devolved to the third tier of government, the local councils, hence better reflecting the needs and desires of the people at grassroots-level.”

‘Citizens now have little influence’
 
Zairil said local government elections were the norm before it was banned by the federal government in 1965.

Elected municipal councils used to enjoy far-reaching powers, encompassing everything from public transport to - as in the case of the Penang municipal council - power generation.

"Today, everything has been centralised in the hands of the federal government, such that ordinary citizens now have very little influence over so many areas that directly affect their lives," he said.

The Penang legislative assembly has gazetted the Local Government Election (Penang Island and Province Wellesley) Enactment 2012, but this has been deemed to be against federal laws.

The Penang administration is therefore seeking a court decision to allow the state to conduct local government elections.

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