Pakatan Rakyat SCARED of holding Local Council Elections now...because BN may win.

Pakatan Rakyat, where is that LOCAL COUNCIL Elections. You are no better that the Barisan Nasional , because all you do now is just appoint those from your coalition partners, and some others.

3 Persons choosing is really not we should be having . We want the PEOPLE to elect in their own Local Councillors, Village Heads, Taman Heads, Penghulus, etc...


Even if there is any legal hurdles to overcome before Local Council Elections(which is doubtful, as many have opined that there is nothing stopping the holding of elections) could be held, at the very least, the PR Governments should have got the people to indicate their choice. A referendum could have been held - if an election could not. The persons indicated by the people vide a referendum could then be appointed. There are always ways and means of doing this -- and I say, that what the Pakatan Rakyat is scared of is that if there is elections, then maybe the BN members and their supporters may win at the local government level. After all, it is a trend that the people always wants some kind of balance, i.e. if the State Government is Barisan, then maybe the local council should be Opposition.


It is FEAR that has cause the Pakatan Rakoyat to back-track from their promises of holding local council elections. Admit it.

Anyway, if you appoint them councilors now in 2008 - and given that terms of office is reasonably 3 years, does this mean that we will be having local council elections in 2011 now....BULL SHIT, by then we will be having our next elections and there will be no local council elections -- and even if they did have such local council elections, it will not give enough time for them elected local council to complete their term and show that 'Elected Local Councils' can also work -- maybe even work much better. After all, to be elected again the elected local councillors have to keep the concerns needs and welfare of the people first. (If there is no elections, then all potential and current local council members need to do is to make sure that they are in the good books of the leaders of the PKR, DAP and PAS, also the Menteri Besar and the State Government.)

Let us have LOCAL COUNCIL ELECTIONS NOW - in fact let us have elections at all levels - the Taman, the Kampung, the Housing Courts, etc. We have to do it NOW, with a plan to try and have the next elections before the next General Elections. And if we manage to do that, we have given the RAKYAT a taste of Democracy, and even if the BN government comes back in power - dismantling the democratic structures and practices in place would be most difficult.




2008/06/17

300 in final lap to be councillors

By : Brenda Lim

Rehda secretary-general Datuk Francis Lee (right) being interviewed by A. Sivanesan (left foreground), Nga Kor Ming and Mohd Zainuddin Mohd Yusof for a local councillor's post.

IPOH: Some 300 men and women, declared as the "cream of the cream" of over 2,600 applicants, will have 10 minutes each to convince a panel of three state executive councillors that they are the most suitable candidate as councillors in Perak's 15 local councils.

Ng Wah Seng is the oldest short-listed candidate.

With only 94 of the 333 posts open to the public, the competition was stiff, and many candidates were well-known public figures with illustrious careers, said state Local Government Committee chairman Nga Kor Ming.

They include the owner of Perak's largest architect firm, a former Public Works Department engineer, a former health director of the Ipoh city council and the secretary-general of Real Estate and Housing Developers' Association (Rehda) Malaysia.

Although Nga, state Health, Environment, Human Resources Committee chairman A. Sivanesan and state Religion, Religious Education, Women and Culture Committee chairman Mohd Zainuddin Mohd Yusof would conduct the interviews and make the final decision, the short-listing was done by an independent advisory panel.

For the first time, all local councillors would make statutory declarations that they had a clean record and were not bankrupt, and would also sign a document agreeing to adhere to a code of ethics, said Nga.
Meanwhile, on his application to be part of the Ipoh city council, Rehda secretary-general Datuk Francis Lee said he was in a position to contribute as he was well-versed on the needs of the general and business community.

Retired Ipoh city council chief clerk M. Kana, 60, stressed that local councillors and council department heads should make monthly visits to various parts of the city to address city woes, while lecturer Dr Cheah Phaik Kin, 33, said she supported the move to seek public feedback so that there would be a balance between top-down and bottom-up administration.

The oldest shortlisted candidate, 74-year-old petrol kiosk operator Ng Wah Seng said he was glad that the present administration was open to non-governmental organisation participating to help improve the city.

Former chief inspector of schools Mohd Zabidi Abdul Latiff, 67, said he would strive to make Ipoh a cleaner and safer city, while housewife Chan Foong Leng, 47, who applied to be a councillor for the Kinta Barat district, said she wanted to help more people, especially single mothers and poor families.