Deputy Housing and Local Government Minister M Kayveas' call for chairpersons of local councils to be appointed by the federal government should be condemned for what it is: a naked, regressive attempt at power grabbing.

Anyone with even a cursory interest in Malaysian politics would know that PPP - Kayveas' party - has been demanding for local council seats to be determined through elections. We have no quarrel with Kayveas on that - after all, a political party is set up to pursue such aims.

But to ask for the power to appoint chairpersons to local councils to be transferred to the federal government - where Kayveas sits as deputy minister - betrays a blatant pursuit of power, even to the extent of distorting further the current appointment system.

People with slightly longer memories would know that PPP won seats in local council elections in Perak in the 60s. For a party which knows full well the importance of local democracy - and for a party which opposed the switch to the current appointment system - Kayveas' vocal request to turn the appointment of council chairpersons into a federal affair shows how far PPP had strayed since its good old days.

Surely the proper way to achieve the PPP's aspiration to be represented again in local governments would be to ask for a return to elected local councils. Only when council representatives are elected would they be sensitive to local aspirations.