State polls: Empower communities through local govt elections, says Muda candidate

LOCAL council elections should be brought back to empower communities, says Muda's Bukit Gasing candidate VKK Raja.

He said in a statement Thursday (July 27) that the decentralisation of power is crucial.

"Councillors and mayors in the local governments are appointed by the state government.

"Therefore, they are political appointees with powers centralised in the Federal Government, state government and local councils. This is far from ideal and increasingly untenable," he said.

"For communities facing critical situations such as the proposed PJD Link elevated highway case in Petaling Jaya, this empowerment cannot come sooner.

"Muda believes... we should implement local council elections. With the unity government currently holding a two-thirds majority in the Dewan Rakyat, surely this can be done.

"After all, Malaysia used to have local elections before. I call upon voters, especially those in Bukit Gasing, to insist that every candidate seeking your vote should pledge to support local council elections.

"It’s time the third vote is returned to the people," he said.

He added that development projects are often approved without sufficient consultation with the impacted communities.

He said local councillors play a key role in shaping a community, as they have the power and means to directly influence a neighbourhood.

"With this in mind, communities should have the ability to pick those they think can best represent them, and not (have councillors thrust upon them) by the state or Federal Government that uses these positions as a... reward or... intra-party political bargaining chip," he added.