With myth busted, no reason to stop local govt polls, say experts
Zuraida Kamaruddin had been a strong advocate of local government elections when she was with PKR but has since changed her stance, acccording to critics.
PETALING JAYA: After an electoral watchdog debunked the myth that non-Malays will monopolise councils if local government elections are held, experts are asking the government to respond accordingly and show the results of its own three-year-old report.
The local government experts welcomed a research report titled “Reintroduction of Local Government Elections in Malaysia” launched by Bersih 2.0 yesterday.
Commenting on the report, lawyer Derek Fernandez said the concerns of racial conflicts raised by certain politicians were just an excuse for power politics and patronage.
He also questioned the rejection of the polls as a means to avoid a monopoly by non-Malays in cities. The Bersih 2.0 study showed that the claim that non-Malays would dominate local authorities in the cities was outdated.
The local government experts welcomed a research report titled “Reintroduction of Local Government Elections in Malaysia” launched by Bersih 2.0 yesterday.
Commenting on the report, lawyer Derek Fernandez said the concerns of racial conflicts raised by certain politicians were just an excuse for power politics and patronage.
He also questioned the rejection of the polls as a means to avoid a monopoly by non-Malays in cities. The Bersih 2.0 study showed that the claim that non-Malays would dominate local authorities in the cities was outdated.
Derek Fernandez.
Fernandez said if elections were responsible for racial discord, then elections at all levels should be banned.
“How is it that we can have federal and state elections without any racial disharmony? Why should local government elections be any different?
“There are 155 local authorities and like state and federal seats, the coalition system in parties will affect the electability of candidates and balance out any concerns.
“The thing is, people don’t care about your racial background, people will only vote for you if you’re capable of doing the job,” he told FMT.
Danesh Prakash Chacko, the author of the report, noted that Malays are the majority population and many Malays now live in cities and urban centres.
Last year, PAS Youth chief Khairil Nizam argued that there were more Chinese in urban areas compared with other ethnicities and that local council elections could cause a greater divide in living standards among ethnic groups.
Danesh had dismissed this claim by citing the 2010 census data, which showed that the Chinese community only constituted a majority in two councils – the Kampar District Council in Perak, and the then Penang Island Municipal Council (now Penang Island City Council).
Of eight local authorities with city status, two – Alor Setar and Kuala Terengganu – had a Malay supermajority (above 66% of the local council) while two other city councils – Shah Alam and Melaka – had a Malay majority.
The 2010 data also showed that of the remaining four cities with a mixed population, only Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh had a Chinese majority.
“How is it that we can have federal and state elections without any racial disharmony? Why should local government elections be any different?
“There are 155 local authorities and like state and federal seats, the coalition system in parties will affect the electability of candidates and balance out any concerns.
“The thing is, people don’t care about your racial background, people will only vote for you if you’re capable of doing the job,” he told FMT.
Danesh Prakash Chacko, the author of the report, noted that Malays are the majority population and many Malays now live in cities and urban centres.
Last year, PAS Youth chief Khairil Nizam argued that there were more Chinese in urban areas compared with other ethnicities and that local council elections could cause a greater divide in living standards among ethnic groups.
Danesh had dismissed this claim by citing the 2010 census data, which showed that the Chinese community only constituted a majority in two councils – the Kampar District Council in Perak, and the then Penang Island Municipal Council (now Penang Island City Council).
Of eight local authorities with city status, two – Alor Setar and Kuala Terengganu – had a Malay supermajority (above 66% of the local council) while two other city councils – Shah Alam and Melaka – had a Malay majority.
The 2010 data also showed that of the remaining four cities with a mixed population, only Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh had a Chinese majority.
Raja Kamarul Bahrin.
Meanwhile, former deputy housing minister Raja Kamarul Bahrin slammed the current minister Zuraida Kamaruddin for refusing to release the ministry’s report on the local council elections.
Previously, Zuraida said her ministry had been working on the paper since June 2018, adding that it would be forwarded to the Cabinet for discussion.
However, after objections from certain MPs, she decided not to go ahead with presenting the paper.
“Zuraida (who was once with PKR) was very keen on the local elections although some others were not too sure of it. Now, that she is in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, why is she withholding the report which she so strongly advocated before?
“The ministry has already spent time and money to conduct the study for the last three years. She must table it, do not let it go to waste,” Raja Kamarul told FMT.
Fernandez concurred with Raja Kamarul on the matter, saying “Zuraida should present the election model and let the public decide.”
Previously, Zuraida said her ministry had been working on the paper since June 2018, adding that it would be forwarded to the Cabinet for discussion.
However, after objections from certain MPs, she decided not to go ahead with presenting the paper.
“Zuraida (who was once with PKR) was very keen on the local elections although some others were not too sure of it. Now, that she is in the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government, why is she withholding the report which she so strongly advocated before?
“The ministry has already spent time and money to conduct the study for the last three years. She must table it, do not let it go to waste,” Raja Kamarul told FMT.
Fernandez concurred with Raja Kamarul on the matter, saying “Zuraida should present the election model and let the public decide.”
***
kt notes:
I wrote the post below on 06 August 2020, reproduced here for your reading convenience:
PSM blasts Zuraida's 'lame excuse' for backing down on local govt polls
Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) today lambasted Local Government and Housing Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin for backing down on the local government election issue, saying it was sad that she had given up so easily while citing lame excuses.
"This shows that someone who has been so brave previously in breaking party ranks (when in PKR) is now not prepared to do it this time in spite of making all the arguments why local government elections are good," said PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan (above) in a statement.
"While today, they keep talking about racial considerations, the main reason (for opposing local elections) is because these parties want to appoint political loyalists rather than (allow the) people to have elected representatives."
Arutchelvan was responding to Zuraida's announcement in the Dewan Rakyat today that the Perikatan Nasional government would not hold local government elections, saying that both society and local governments were not ready for "the drastic" move of council elections.
The former local councillor for the Kajang Municipal Council reminded Zuraida that far from being a drastic change, local government elections existed in the 1950s and 1960s at a time when the country had fewer facilities and poorer technology.
"Therefore it not a new thing like (that we should keep) debating as if it is something out of the world. A majority of countries in the world have the third vote," he added.
Taking a walk down memory lane, Arutchelvan said local elections were held in the country in 1958 and 1963.
"They were suspended because of the 1964 Confrontation with Indonesia and the Emergency (Suspension of Local Government Elections) Regulations 1965, not because of the May 13, 1969 racial riots."
This had followed a period when the Socialist Front coalition of the Labour Party and Parti Rakyat Malaysia had done very well in local council elections, winning the mayorship of Penang under DS Ramanathan.
kt notes then:
DS Ramanathan, the 1st mayor of Georgetown, was racially voted in by racist Penang Chinese who years later also racially voted in Karpal Singh in a Chinese "tiger den" seat in Jelutong and then in Gelugor, his sons Ramkarpal Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Zairil Khir, Dr Ramasamy, Kasthuriraani Patto
Meanwhile, racist Ipoh-Perak Chinese racially voted in D.R Seenivasegam and S/P Seenivasegam and years later also M Kulasegaran.
Then racist Selangor Chinese in Klang racially voted in Charles Santiago and those in Puchong voted in Gobind Singh (also Karpal Singh's son) ...
... and many more non-Chinese MPs and ADUNs.
Consider those Chinese voters as racists but stupid ones who couldn't tell Chinese from other races.
The reason why the Sembu***nyi's froggy partner has backtracked from local council elections has been the PN's partner PAS which FEARS such urban elections.
Malaysiakini reported in Hadi refused to accept fact on Malay majority in local councils (26 Dec 2018) (extracts):
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has so far refused to accept the fact that Malays make up the current majority of local councillors, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah [note: then in PKR, wakakaka].
Taking to Twitter, Saifuddin was responding to comments on Hadi's reported remarks in London, that local elections must be inclusive so that cities are not dominated by just one race.
"The fact is Malays are the majority in most local councils. But he (Hadi) didn't want to believe it," said Saifuddin to a question on how would the local government results differ from the normal general elections in terms of ethnicity as Malays remained to be the majority population.
"We have to rebut him," the Indera Mahkota MP said to another comment on how Hadi was merely spreading disinformation in arguing against the call to reinstate local government elections.
On Christmas Eve, tempers flared at a dialogue session with Hadi in London, when an audience member asked why the former was being "racist" and against local council elections.
Hadi had warned about a possible repeat of the May 13 race riots if only one race was in power and this had incensed the audience member who first questioned him.
The man then responded by verbally abusing Hadi, claiming the latter's following of the Al Quran had caused his mind to be "stuck in 1969."
DS Ramanathan, the 1st mayor of Georgetown, was racially voted in by racist Penang Chinese who years later also racially voted in Karpal Singh in a Chinese "tiger den" seat in Jelutong and then in Gelugor, his sons Ramkarpal Singh, Jagdeep Singh, Zairil Khir, Dr Ramasamy, Kasthuriraani Patto
Meanwhile, racist Ipoh-Perak Chinese racially voted in D.R Seenivasegam and S/P Seenivasegam and years later also M Kulasegaran.
Then racist Selangor Chinese in Klang racially voted in Charles Santiago and those in Puchong voted in Gobind Singh (also Karpal Singh's son) ...
... and many more non-Chinese MPs and ADUNs.
Consider those Chinese voters as racists but stupid ones who couldn't tell Chinese from other races.
The reason why the Sembu***nyi's froggy partner has backtracked from local council elections has been the PN's partner PAS which FEARS such urban elections.
Malaysiakini reported in Hadi refused to accept fact on Malay majority in local councils (26 Dec 2018) (extracts):
PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang has so far refused to accept the fact that Malays make up the current majority of local councillors, according to Foreign Affairs Minister Saifuddin Abdullah [note: then in PKR, wakakaka].
Taking to Twitter, Saifuddin was responding to comments on Hadi's reported remarks in London, that local elections must be inclusive so that cities are not dominated by just one race.
"The fact is Malays are the majority in most local councils. But he (Hadi) didn't want to believe it," said Saifuddin to a question on how would the local government results differ from the normal general elections in terms of ethnicity as Malays remained to be the majority population.
"We have to rebut him," the Indera Mahkota MP said to another comment on how Hadi was merely spreading disinformation in arguing against the call to reinstate local government elections.
On Christmas Eve, tempers flared at a dialogue session with Hadi in London, when an audience member asked why the former was being "racist" and against local council elections.
Hadi had warned about a possible repeat of the May 13 race riots if only one race was in power and this had incensed the audience member who first questioned him.
The man then responded by verbally abusing Hadi, claiming the latter's following of the Al Quran had caused his mind to be "stuck in 1969."
Faced with a barrage of expletives, Hadi reiterated his belief that local council elections must be inclusive, so that no one race controls the cities, as this can cause tension.
Meanwhile, DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang said he was taken aback by Hadi's latest remark against local council elections as the same arguments on alleged dominance of one race had been countered since three years ago.
"In fact, the argument that the restoration of local council elections would benefit the Chinese at the expense of the Malays is even more untenable today," stressed the Iskandar Puteri MP.
Lim recalled how three years ago he had cited figures from the 2010 national census which showed that out of the 148 local authorities in Malaysia - comprising three city halls, nine city councils, 37 municipal councils and 99 district councils - only two percent or three of the local authorities have Chinese majorities, namely Sibu (Chinese 63.4 percent, Malay/bumiputera 35.7 percent, Indians 0.4 percent, others 0.5 percent); Kuching Selatan (Chinese 62.5 percent, Malay/bumiputera 36.4 percent, Indians 0.6 percent, others 0.5 percent) and Pulau Pinang (Chinese 56.4 percent, Malays 33.7 percent, Indians 9.5 percent, others 0.4 percent).
On the other hand, local authorities with Malay majorities of over 50 percent of the population numbered 132 or 89.2 percent of the 148 local authorities
The self-proclaimed protectors of the nons, MCA and MIC, in power since before and after May 13, 1969 are responsible for this loss of the Third Vote.
ReplyDeleteNow back in power.....given second chance to make things right, they continue to support Hadi and PAS.
Ayam sure Wee KHAT Siong, the self-proclaimed protector of the Chinese, will stay silent, Boh Lam Phar, pura-pura Buat Tak Tahu, play Sudah Aku Punya, diam-diam duduk rumah makan Mee Maggi and suck up to Hadi & PAS.
Wakakakakakaka…
ReplyDeleteThis piece of fact will put all those don't-spookg-the-melayu-senditivities duckheads underpants in tied knots!
Waiting for that enchanted chorus to start!
These muslim hypocrites and who give islam a bad name will always find excuses for thwir own agenda.
ReplyDeleteHadi and PAS have long ago lost their credibility. I often wonder qhether the non-muslim PAS supporters group have been brainwashed and thus is blind to the antics of these truly pretentious and hypocritical pseudo holy men