In 2008, Pakatan Rakyat captured four states, riding on a wave of public support crying out for change and transparency. Local democracy was touted and public demonstrations by NGOs were fully supported by all of its component parties. Local council elections became part of its election manifesto.
A 25% quota was allocated to civil society and the first batch of councillors had a good number from NGOs. The coalition of good governance (CGG) was formed, and with a grant from the Selangor government, worked out the feasibility of conducting local council elections.
A serious attempt was made to implement it, using MBPJ as the first council, but the final go-ahead never came. All the series of meeting came to an end with no closure. Unofficially we were told that one party in Pakatan had reservations and it was difficult to go ahead with it.
The exco for local government, Teng Chang Kim, said in a statement to the press that the Bill for local council elections was ready and awaiting support from only one party. Members were encouraged to persuade this party to agree so that he could get on with the job of implementing it.
Many doubted the sincerity of his statement based on observations and the performance of Pakatan since 2008. In 2013, Pakatan no longer took a strong stand on local council elections, dropping it from its election manifesto.
After 2008, many local councils lost their NGOs. Lobbying by politicians to get their compliant proxies resulted in delays in the appointments, leaving them without councillors for months while power-hungry politicians fought over the quota and subsequently usurped the seats from the NGO quota.
Teng promised local council elections in 2014 when he was appointed exco for local government and then made the move of appointing councilors whose terms will end in 2015. This makes a mockery of Teng’s statement that one party was reluctant to consent to the elections.
This matter has been discussed before. Pakatan’s fear is that as the majority of its members are Malays, they will hardly get any seats in urban areas where the population is mixed. This can be overcome by following the Singapore model of electing groups of councillors, each consisting of all races.
While it may be a good solution, it also reaffirms that Pakatan is not ready to move away from race based politics. The real reason for Pakatan having two minds about local council elections is based on the greed for power. We are all familiar with the phrase ‘power corrupts, absolute power corrupts absolutely’.
A case in point is Kota Damansara. The first councillor appointed was not reappointed. In his place, the local MP has put in his own friendly proxy to take the place. For three years, the councillor worked against NGOs and the neglected poor in Kota Damansara.
A four-year-old boy fell to his death through rusted railings under his watch. Official complaints to the Menteri Besar’s and Teng’s office was of no avail. This matter was already well covered by the online media. The Selangor state assembly said the matter was resolved, when it was not.
This will certainly hurt the ‘keadilan’ image of Pakatan Rakyat. The question here is: Is Pakatan still for the rakyat?
Danger signs
The Bible Society of Malaysia announced that it cannot rely on Pakatan to protect the religious rights of the minorities and is moving to Kuala Lumpur. The sarcastic goodbye to BSM’s exit from Selangor by the Menteri Besar will not be taken lightly by the religious minorities.
The disregard for public opinion does not bode well for Pakatan. In the next few days the disgruntled public are demanding to meet the Menteri Besar over the Selangor government’s plan to go ahead with the Kidex highway. No genuine public consultation was conducted.
The highway will slice across Petaling Jaya, displacing hundreds of homes and making Petaling Jaya a ‘laughable city’ instead of the much touted ‘livable city’. The ‘protected’ Selangor State park which will also have a highway tearing across a pristine forested area that is also a water catchment area.
Petaling Jaya will continue to absorb more residents even though its infrastructure can no longer support a bigger population. This is because the state is pushing for a higher plot ratio for all areas that are along the MRT.
The public is no longer consulted and engaged. Some who do not trust the words of the state government are moving away. The more solid ones are now openly criticising the self-serving attitude of some politicians.
The upcoming PKR elections may offer hope of a more inclusive leadership but it is no longer about empty promises. The public is going to judge politicians individually for their sincerity and their work.
Back to the local council elections. Don’t ask the public to persuade the stubborn party to change its mind. Don’t ask the environmentalists to waste their time gathering petitions to protect the desecration of water catchment areas.
Don’t ask Kidex volunteers to sacrifice their work and family time to mobilise and fight against unjust development. It is Pakatan’s responsibility to get its house in order to keep to its manifesto promises.
A paragraph from its 2013 election manifesto states: Pakatan Rakyat respects the people as the ultimate masters of their destiny and our homeland. The people’s freedom and voices must be respected. The rights of all, regardless of background, rich or poor, shall be considered. Our aim is to eliminate all unjust laws that infringe the sovereignty of the people.
If in the last election the public entrustment of power to you have been misplaced, you can rest assured that the public is already benchmarking all politicians individually. Are they here to use their power against the public or to work with the public by empowering them to help solve community problems?
Already some groups have decided and they are moving.
Written by Jeffrey FK Phang
FMT
Jeffrey FK Phang is an asst professor at Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman while also an activist with Friends of Kota Damansara. His passion is in creating caring communities that are safe, harmonious and livable.
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