PETALING JAYA: An elected mayor for a city like Kuala Lumpur would give the city leadership a direct public mandate on the implementation of city policies, says Kuala Lumpur Residents Action for Sustainable Development Association.
Its honorary secretary Joshua Low said at present, the Kuala Lumpur mayor answers to the federal executive, not to residents.
“An elected mayor would make city leadership directly answerable to the people who live with the consequences of city policies,” he said yesterday.
He said residents would benefit because an elected leader is structurally more responsive, especially on daily urban-related concerns such as floods, transport, housing affordability, public spaces and neighbourhood planning.
Low added that even if councillors are not immediately elected, mayoral elections would still be a pragmatic step toward a more accountable city management.
He was responding to Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh’s statement that a feasibility study on the mayoral election in Kuala Lumpur is being conducted by the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM).
Brickfields Rukun Tetangga chairman SKK Naidu described the idea as a “good and fantastic move” as elections would allow voters to evaluate candidates based on their track record. He said candidates with professional or management experience could run the city more effectively.
Malaysian Integrity Institute member Tan Sri Lee Lam Thye said the perception of issues related to race in an election of a Kuala Lumpur mayor should not be an issue.
“Such racial perception is totally irrelevant and out of place in our multi-racial nation. If allowed to persist, it will not do any good for Kuala Lumpur and will only further polarise the people.”
Lee said the proposed election could strengthen accountability, giving residents greater ownership over how the city is run.
“Kuala Lumpur residents currently have MPs but no direct say over the managing of the city. A mayoral election gives residents ownership over how their city is run and managed,” he said.
The former MP said an elected mayor with a fixed mandate could pursue longer-term solutions in key areas such as public housing, transport and traffic congestion, climate and flood mitigation, as well as urban safety and liveability.
Lee proposed that the mayor serve a term of four to five years to allow sufficient time to implement policies.
