The research report titled “Reintroduction of Local Government Elections in Malaysia” adds that the claim that non-Malays would especially dominate local authorities in the cities was outdated.
Danesh Prakash Chacko, the author of the election report, noted that Malays are the majority population and many Malays now live in cities and urban centres.
“Most of the councils in the peninsula are actually dominated by Malays,” Danesh said in a webinar today.
Danesh is also a mapping adviser at the electoral reform group Tindak Malaysia and a research analyst at the Jeffrey Sachs Centre in Sunway University.
Last year, PAS Youth chief Khairil Nizam argued that there were more Chinese in urban areas compared with other ethnicities and that local council elections could cause a greater divide in living standards among ethnic groups.
According to Danesh, a similar claim was made in 2019 by Umno deputy president Mohamad Hasan, who said that local council elections would polarise Malaysia as voters in urban areas would vote along communal lines.
A report in December 2018 quoted PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang as saying the “DAP Chinese” would dominate certain urban councils, such as those in Kuala Lumpur, Seremban, Penang, Ipoh and Johor Bahru, if elections were to be held at the local council level.
All these claims were dismissed by Danesh as not holding water anymore due to the increase in urbanisation among Malays.
He said, according to the 2010 census data, the Chinese community only constituted a majority in two councils, namely the Kampar District Council in Perak, and the then Penang Island Municipal Council.
Out of eight local authorities with city status, two – Alor Setar and Kuala Terengganu – had a Malay supermajority (above 66% of the local council) while two other city councils – Shah Alam and Melaka – had a Malay majority.
The 2010 data also showed that of the remaining four cities with a mixed population, only Kuala Lumpur and Ipoh had a Chinese majority.
“As the Bumiputera community has a higher birth rate than the non-Bumiputera community and there’s increased urbanisation of the Bumiputera community, it will be a matter of time before mixed councils such as Kuala Lumpur City Hall will become a Bumiputera-majority council,” he said.
A panel member of the webinar, Farhan Haziq, who is a local councillor at the Kajang Municipal Council, said resistance to holding local government elections did not only come from certain political parties or politicians but also from the civil service.
“Currently, mayors are appointed from the civil service. However, should there be a local council election, mayors would no longer be appointed but would be elected by voters. And, voters would most likely vote for a politician rather than a public servant.
“This could halt their career progression,” he said, adding that this growing concern needed to be addressed too.
“We cannot just leave them out if we hold elections, we need to take care of them as well. After all, they are the ones who have been managing the local governments all this while,” he said.
Meanwhile, Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah said local government elections should not be the only focus in ensuring democracy.
“There must be structural reform of the local government system as well. This is important to curb corruption. Corruption does not only happen among local councillors and mayors but also happens among the staff,” she said.
Further, she said, there was also a need for better public participation in the decision-making process and access to information which, she added, was generally lacking.
“I urge that all local council meetings be opened to the public,” she added.