‘Let people elect who should run KL’

PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah says local elections must be brought back so that the people can pick leaders to run the city.

KUALA LUMPUR: Bring back the local elections as the residents of the capital city have the right to decide who they should pick to run the city.

Lembah Pantai MP and PKR vice president Nurul Izzah Anwar said that although local government elections were stopped in 1965, KLites had a right to choose who they wanted to run their city.

“At the time, there were valid reasons as to why this was done. However, the time has come – after 47 years- for the people to be given back their right to vote (in local elections).”

“Why do I say this? We only have to look at the 2012 DBKL’s budget worth RM2.3 billion and ask, ‘Is this amount going to be used in the best way possible?’” she said in a press statement.

KL’s annual budget, she said, was on par with two combined opposition state government budgets.

In comparison, Nurul said that the Penang and Selangor state governments had an annual budget of RM1.6 billion and RM740 million respectively.

With this in mind, she asked if DBKL told KL residents how it was spending this money.

“Is there a response system in place that would ensure DBKL’s responsibility in making sure that KL rate-payers’ money is used in the most effective and efficient way?”

“Without a local election system in place, all these questions will go unanswered,” she said.

EC reluctant

Nurul also claimed that the time had come for KLites to choose a City Hall and a Datuk Bandar (Mayor) that were answerable to the people.

Since 2008, Pakatan Rakyat state governments have been trying to get the federal government and the Election Commission (EC) to bring back local council elections.

The EC has appeared reluctant in conducting local elections, saying it did not have the power to do so.

This was after Penang executive councillor Chow Kon Yeow sought the EC’s cooperation in getting a judicial pronouncement on the legality of holding local elections.

He wanted the EC to petition the Federal Court to resolve the issue.

In a previous FMT report, a panel of lawyers commissioned by the Penang government said that the Local Government Elections Act 1960 was not repealed, and had even been revised in September 1991.

However, Penang state legal adviser Faiza Zulkifli said that according to Section 15 of the Local Government Act (1976), all provisions relating to local government elections have ceased to have any effect.