Although civil society is disappointed that Pakatan states didn’t implement local elections in its first term, nevertheless there were achievements to this end: local village, mosque committee elections and more – first published in the Penang Monthly’s July 2011 issue.
Local democracy alive and kicking in Pakatan states
The ambition to enhance local democracy remains strong in Pakatan Rakyat (Pakatan) states. So far, no help has come from the Election Commission, but the initiatives that have nevertheless been taken to elect local councillors, village heads and mosque committee members are impressive.
In a PEM column last year, I wrote extensively about local government elections and the laws and policies governing them in Malaysia. At that point, both the state governments of Penang and Selangor had written to the Election Commission to request for local government elections to be held in their states. The response was negative, and the 11-page reply stated that the National Council of Local Government would have to give its approval first, and since this had not been done, local elections were not possible. The Local Government Act 1974 and the Federal Constitution were both cited as a reason for its refusal to take on the task of conducting local elections.
These were not watertight reasons and it is clear it simply was not interested in exploring the matter further.
Almost a year later, the situation seems to be changing rapidly, with both state governments making some – albeit not as rapidly as some would like it – headway in implementing local polls in one way or other. It is important to note that local elections are not an entirely new concept – it was conducted in the past but was suspended in 1965 by the government during the Confrontation period between Malaysia and Indonesia. Civil society activists have long campaigned for the return of local elections since, as it is the most basic way in which people can involve themselves in public decision-making, especially where matters that affect them directly are concerned. This is true both in the monitoring of the use of their own public funds and in reaping the benefits of public service delivery on a daily basis.
Local council elections
The parties that later formed Pakatan were quick to take a position on the matter, placing the re-enactment of local elections as a goal in their 2008 General Election manifestoes. In fact, the previous Perak state government under Pakatan was the first to restore local elections, electing all 817 Malay village chiefs in the state. However, these were sacked after Perak was taken over by the Barisan Nasional (Barisan) government. In Penang, mock local elections were held during a “Penang Forum 3”, in which 10 nominees were elected, but not all of these were later appointed by the state government into the council. Under the Local Government Act 1974 state governments are to appoint local councillors, and the hope was that an election – whether valid or not – could become consequential if the government and its appointments followed the election results.
In Selangor, the state government has recently proposed that 30% of the 24 local councillors be open for election. These are basically seats for groups other than political parties. The pilot partial election is most likely to be conducted at the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), and as announced by state executive councillors, it is to be held by the end of 2011. An eight-person task force consisting of members of the State Economic Planning Unit (Upen) and representatives of the Coalition of Good Governance (CGG) has been set up to adopt rules and regulations for the local election.
Although these are strides in a positive direction, there have been criticisms that the Pakatan state governments are not serious about pushing all the way for full local elections to be conducted. There is of course the very real political tension that Pakatan would surely be considering, namely that of balancing the formidable Barisan-led federal government breathing down its neck, and local councillors who can potentially be critical of its administration. Theoretically, all three levels of government, local, state and federal, ought to operate independently of the other, but the reality is that for smooth implementation of policies all three must each have some level of understanding with the others.
Local village head elections
Efforts towards local elections have not been relegated solely to local councils. The Pakatan states have been putting this into practice in other unique areas as well. For example, Selangor has allocated RM60,000 to conduct local elections for three of its Chinese new villages, namely Kampung Baru Sungai Jarom in Jenjarom, Kampung Bagan in Pulau Ketam and Kampung Baru Pandamaran. The nomination days begin from July 24, and polling days are on July 31 and August 7 and 14 respectively for each of them, with each village having a week-long campaign period. Again, because the Election Commission will not be party to local polls, it will be conducted entirely by the local councils.
The success of these polls for village chiefs will be an indication of how ready the rest of the state is in electing representatives at the local level. It promises not only to educate the locals on the process of voting for their local community heads, but also to familiarise public servants working in local councils with the reasons behind such elections and with the workings of the mechanisms required. This is experience that will prove extremely valuable in the future, if and when Pakatan states decide to go full-swing on local council elections.
Mosque committee elections
The decision to conduct local elections has not been without controversy of course. The Penang state government’s decision to allow mosque committees to be elected as opposed to being appointed has been politicised by the United Malays National Organisation (Umno) and Utusan Malaysia. In the past, the Penang Islamic Religious Council (MAIPP) appointed individuals or groups without necessarily seeking the views of residents in the mosque’s vicinity. The idea of conducting elections is to ensure such residents have a say in who represents them as mosque administrators.
The dispute lies in the argument that mosque committee members have the potential to be politically powerful and to determine the direction of the mosque. By allowing residents to vote, this in essence makes for a more transparent system of having individuals who are not political representatives or nominees, but have gotten the position based on their morals and merits.
The federal government, through Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Jamil Khir Baharom, has said that all Islamic affairs in the states ruled by appointed governors (Yang di-Pertua Negeri, which is the case in Penang), come under the jurisdiction of the King (Yang di-Pertuan Agong). Penang’s state exco on religious affairs has clarified that the King is the final decision-maker on mosque committees, and therefore “His Majesty’s prior approval to conduct committee elections is not an issue” since names of elected individuals would in any case be submitted for endorsement by the King. Some 4,485 people have offered to fill up 4,530 posts in 151 of the 200 mosques in Penang, where elections will be conducted, possibly at their annual general meetings.
In fact, this should not have been raised as an issue at all because Selangor had already begun conducting mosque committee elections as far back as in 2009. Selangor was the first state to hold democratic elections of mosque committees (June 2009) and surau committees (June 2010). Experience has shown that a greater number of professionals have now been elected as committee members, and that locals are more empowered now. Similar to the practice elsewhere, the Selangor Islamic Religious Council (MAIS) would in the past appoint political individuals and it is also speculated these were often heads of party divisions. There are 525 mosques and 1,980 suraus in Selangor.
There are bound to be numerous hiccups along the way, but the trend is an optimistic one. The perseverance displayed by the Pakatan states given the odds is rather remarkable and it is hoped that things can only improve from here on. If all politics is local, then polls at the local councils, villages, and mosques are a good sign that democracy is alive and kicking in Pakatan states.
