No local council elections, says PM

PUTRAJAYA (Dec 10): The Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad (pictured) has announced today that local council elections “are off the cards”, according to a report by the Malaysiakini news portal.

“No local council elections,” Dr Mahathir was reported to have said during a media conference at the Empowering Local Councils Convention at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre this morning.

He explained that local council elections may result in race-related conflicts in Malaysia.

“Local council elections may produce the wrong results.

"The urban may be different, the rural may be different… there will be conflicts emphasised by racial differences and the like. So we don't want that to happen.”

It was reported as late as July that the Housing and Local Government Ministry plans to hold local government elections in about three years.

Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin even said that such elections can be done after "the nation's finances and economy stabilises".

Federal Territories Minister Khalid Samad also said in July that the process of setting up local elections for DBKL could take years, and it may well be that such elections would not even occur in time for the next general election, reported The Malaysian Insight.

“We don’t have a crystal ball. Maybe it will take three or five years, or maybe it will be the agenda for the next elections. I don’t know,” Khalid said.

“But we are committed to the democratisation of the public. We want to look at it step by step,” he assured.