Federal Court allows Penang govt to commence petition on local elections

PUTRAJAYA: The Federal Court on Thursday allowed the Penang government to commence a petition it had filed in an attempt to restore local government elections. Federal Court judge Datuk Hasan Lahgranted leave to the state government and the former president of the non-governmental organisation Aliran, P. Ramakrishnan, to proceed with the petition to challenge the validity of the provision in the Local Government Act 1976 which prevented state legislatures from providing for local government elections within their states. He allowed the state government's application for leave on a sole legal question to be deliberated and decided by the Federal Court.

The question of law was whether Parliament has the power to enact laws relating to local government elections.