Khalid, who took office last week, said empowering the elected representatives was a necessary step towards introducing elections for the post of Kuala Lumpur mayor.
Under the previous Barisan Nasional government, MPs could not formally participate in DBKL’s decisions, contrary to democratic principles, he said.
“We will discuss how to ensure that MPs are given recognition and are involved in DBKL’s administration and management,” he said. This could be done by having them on special committees and other bodies.
Representative councils of city residents would also be revamped after views were obtained from all involved, and educational programmes conducted to help the public understand the importance of local government elections.
In May, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin had called for the KL mayor, now appointed by the federal government, to be chosen by way of an election.
Khalid also said his ministry had submitted files pertaining to DBKL’s move to sell 64 plots of land to developers under the former government to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission.
Work on all projects there had been ordered to be stopped and the ministry would cooperate with MACC’s investigation.
Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng had earlier called on MACC to look into the sale of the plots, alleging that they were not in compliance with government procedure.
He claimed that 171 hectares of land had been gradually sold off since 2013 at a cost of RM4.28 billion.
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