Promised Local Council Elections, Procrastinated, Breached?, Now doing a poll ...wayang??

Save for Perak (whilst it was under the rule of Pakatan Rakyat), it saddens me to note that all the other Pakatan Rakyat States seems to have not fulfilled on their promises to have local council elections...

They proceeded to appoint local councilors -  and they appointed their own party members. [Nothing really different from the UMNO-led BN, who also appointed their own political party members]. Pakatan Rakyat also appointed some civil society/NGO persons - but then BN also did have 1 or 2 NGO persons, usually from the Consumer Movement. 

Why don't they have local council elections? Well, maybe it is the same fear that the UMNO-led BN had - i.e. that the people will choose persons from the opposition parties and others - not their own party people..but, that is Democracy - and it is the people that decide.

First, the reason was that the law did not allow them to have elections (but then, there were many 'legal experts' who pointed out that they could)

Then, after almost 2 years, the Penang government (followed by the Selangor government?) took the 'first step' by writing to the Election Commission. Did they instruct the EC to conduct local council elections, or did they ask the EC for advice? And, the EC gave its opinion....or was it the EC's decision.

PUTRAJAYA, March 24 (Bernama) -- Penang and Selangor cannot hold the local government elections as the related provisions under the Local Government Elections Act 1960 have been abolished with the enforcement of the Local Government Act 1976, the Election Commission (EC) said.

EC chairman Tan Sri Abdul Aziz Mohd Yusuf said Section 10 of the Local Government Act 1976 stipulates that membership to a local council should be made through appointment.

"It's not that the EC does not want to carry out the elections but the current law does not allow for them," he told reporters here today.

He said that if states in the peninsula, including Penang and Selangor, planned to conduct local government elections, they should first decide on such policies.

"If state governments want to change the policy, they can do so but it should not be done in isolation," he said.

"They can only change the policy by taking the matter to the National Council for the Local Government which is chaired by a minister, and not to the EC," he said.

On March 8, Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng wrote to the EC asking it to conduct elections for the Penang Municipal Council and Seberang Prai Municipal Council.

On March 15, Selangor Menteri Besar Tan Sri Abdul Khalid Ibrahim also wrote to the EC asking the commission to study whether it was possible to hold local government elections.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak had said that there was no need to hold the local elections as it had been abolished for so long. - Bernama, 24/3/2010, Local council elections cannot be held in Penang, Selangor: EC

Now, what do they do? Do they take the matter to court - and get a declaration that the State can have local council elections - and, possibly also, that the EC must conduct them? Unless, I am wrong - they did not do so...

Did they take the matter up to the National Council for the Local Government, as opined by the EC? I have not read anything to suggest that they did..


So, what did the Penang and Selangor State governments do ....well, penang started a poll on its website....a big joke

Q: Adakah anda menyokong Pilihanraya Kerajaan Tempatan diadakan semula? Ya  93.4 % Tidak  6.6 % Total votes : 695

[ Undi ] [ Lain-lain Undian ] [ Home ] http://www.penang. gov.my/index. php?ch=1&pg=187

I believe that the Pakatan Rakyat, just like the UMNO-led BN government, is not interested in bringing back Local Council elections any time soon.  

I believe that the Pakatan Rakyat, just like the UMNO-led BN government, is not interested in greater democracy...and, thus no steps even in promoting Kampung/Kampung Baru/Taman, Kampung Orang Asli elections (and there is no law preventing them from doing this...) . 

"The people are not mature enough...and have no capacity to choose their own local leaders . Like children, it falls upon the State (or Federal) government leaders to choose/appoint the local leaders..." - At present this seem to be the position of both the UMNO-led BN and the Pakatan Rakyat...

Federal government has got another reason for not having Local Council elections  - i.e. that LC is the front-line agency providing service to the people, and elections will only distract them from their functions as they will be more interested in matters of politics...it will also be a waste of money and time... (see the written parliamentary reply below...). If the UMNO-led BN governments were appointing persons (not their own political party members) into the Local Council, the argument about efficiency...and political distractions may have had a little weight...but now, the answers are really not acceptable -- current system gives a lot of power to the Menteri Besar and State Governments, for they are the ones that appoint the Local Councillors...

It saddens me that the 'human rights activists' that have been appointed in the Local Councils in Selangor (and Penang) seem to have lost their voices. They seem to have lost their commitment to fight for local council elections and real democracy ( Have they been 'bought off' by the appointment,...or are they just being too patient and still waiting for the 'elections'). There has also been very little criticisms about procedures...and suggestion for proposed reforms coming from these group of "human rights persons now appointed local councillors"? Surely, there are things that can be improved - and surely it must be shared with the public...not just to the MBs in 'closed-door meetings'.

JAWAPAN LISAN DEWAN RAKYAT YB GWO-BURNE LOH PADA 12 APRIL 2010

SOALAN:

Tuan Gwo-Burne Loh [Kelana Jaya] minta MENTERI PERUMAHAN DAN KERAJAAN TEMPATAN menyatakan apakah bentuk demokrasi yang kita miliki apabila kita tidak membenarkan rakyat memilih wakil di peringkat Kerajaan tempatan.

JAWAPAN:

Tuan Yang Di-Pertua,

Untuk makluman Ahli Yang Berhormat, di bawah seksyen 15 (1) Akta Kerajaan Tempatan 1976 (Akta 171), pilihan raya Kerajaan Tempatan hendaklah dihentikan. Undang-undang Kerajaan Tempatan di Sabah dan Sarawak juga tidak mempunyai peruntukan tentang pilihanraya Kerajaan Tempatan.

Akta 171 Seksyen 10 memperuntukkan bahawa sesebuah Pihak Berkuasa Tempatan (PBT) akan mengandungi Datuk Bandar atau Yang Dipertua serta tidak kurang daripada lapan (8) dan tidak lebih daripada 24 orang Ahli Majlis yang dilantik daripada kalangan mereka yang mempunyai pengalaman luas mengenai PBT yang mereka dialami atau mereka yang mempunyai pengalaman luas dalam bidang masing-masing.

Kerajaan tidak bercadang untuk mewujudkan semula pilihanraya Kerajaan Temaptan kerana tiada undang-undang yang membolehkan ianya diadakan kecuali undang-undang tersebut dipinda.

Pilihanraya Kerajaan Tempatan boleh menjejaskan tumpuan PBT selaku agensi barisan hadapan dalam memberikan perkhidmatan kepada rakyat kerana tumpuannya akan lebih menjurus kepada hal-hal yang berkaitan dengan urusan pilihanraya. Urusan pilihanraya bukan sahaja melibatkan masa dan kos malah tenaga kerja di samping kemungkinan wujudnya unsur-unsur kurang sihat oleh pihak-pihak tertentu yang berteraskan kepentingan politik masing-masing.

Pilihanraya Kerajaan Tempatan bukanlah faktor yang menentukan kecekapan sistem penyampaian perkhidmatan PBT. Kecekapan PBT adalah berdasarkan gabungan pelbagai faktor seperti kepimpinan yang dinamik, tenaga kerja yang mahir dan terlatih, proses dan prosedur kerja yang cepat dan mudah, perancangan bandar yang mapan, keseragaman undang-undang dan peraturan, pengurusan sumber hasil dan kewangan yang cekap, pelaksanaan projek pembangunan yang berkesan dan sebagainya.

If that is the UMNO-led BN government's positions, maybe we should also do away with State Legislative Assembly elections for the same 'reasons' would apply as it would for Local Councils....in fact, the same would also apply for Parliamentary elections...

Let's be frank....it is the UMNO coalition government that stopped Local Council elections. Why? Because they did not like the choices that the people were making... They were not happy with the democratic process...where it is the people who decide... not the King,...not the PM,...not the Menteri Besars/Chief Ministers of States... so, the anti-democracy UMNO coalition abolished Local Council elections...

Currently, it seems that the Pakatan Rakyat is also having a similar stand ...(and, now maybe the reason for further delay is that they have to prepare for the next elections...) I fear that the ISA (and other Detention Without Trial Laws) will also not be repealed when Pakatan Rakyat comes into power in the next elections - and, there will be justifications....and justifications.

In Japan, for not being able to fulfill election promises, the PM has resigned...maybe, Khalid...and some others should also  'resign'...mmm