Borhan Aman Shah, the political secretary to the Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari, said in a statement that the issue should first be referred to the state government as Shah Alam is its administrative centre.

“Khalid’s position as an MP for this constituency is acknowledged. Hence, it is only appropriate that he refers to the state government first on the matter as it involves various parties, including civil servants.

“I hope all quarters will be more responsible before issuing any statement involving the wellbeing of Selangor’s residents. The state government is committed to improving the people’s socio-economic standing and preserving harmony,” he said.

Borhan added that Amirudin had taken note of Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s statement that there were no plans to bring back local council elections and the menteri besar also welcomed the housing and local government ministry’s move to have a comprehensive study done on the matter.

Yesterday, Khalid was reported to have said that holding local council elections could be tested, starting with Shah Alam, as its residents were rather comfortable and there was no opportunity to play up racial issues.

Khalid was also reported to have said that he wished to seek clarification from Mahathir over his statement on Monday that the government had no plans to hold local council elections due to concerns over possible racial conflicts and possible differences between urban and rural demographics.