Growing calls by opposition politicians and interest groups for local council elections to be re-instated will go unanswered, as the Housing and Local Government Ministry quashed the idea today.

Deputy Minister Azizah Mohd Dun (left) told the Dewan Rakyat that there are no plans to re-establish the election system to fill appointments in the 144 local councils nationwide.

It had been suspended following a declaration of emergency on Sept 3, 1964, which remains in force.

"Although there are no elections at the local council level, the councillors act as legislators, planners and enforcement officers under section 10 of the Act," she said, responding to a question by Nur Jazlan Mohamed (BN-Pulai).

Qualified candidates

Councillors are required to be residents, have adequate knowledge of the council's affairs and be qualified to be representatives of interest groups, Azizah said.

"Based on this, the ministry believes that councillors appointed by the state government are able to play their role effectively," she added.

Azizah also said that, if the election system is re-instated, there would be implications in terms of cost, time and human resources.

Responding to an additional question from Nur Jazlan, she said the ministry has full confidence that state governments will appoint only qualified candidates to fill the positions.