YOURSAY ‘It looks like he is afraid of elections - all kinds of elections.’
BN minister backs Hadi on local government polls
Sali Tambap:
I do not agree with Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Minister Abdul Rahman Dahlan on this one.
It is more of an excuse for not having local government elections. Racial polarisation is already deeply entrenched into the psyche of Malaysians, thanks to the deliberate policy of Umno to make it so.
Local government elections do not contribute to that, as also other types of elections. It is the policy and politics that encourage it.
Rahman, it looks like you are afraid of elections - all kinds of elections. Perhaps you will support the idea after the Election Commission has gerrymandered the local government boundaries to ensure enough BN-majority seats.
The reason why you do not have the confidence of contesting in a fair election is because of the huge scandals that most BN leaders have hanging over their heads. How do you expect the people to love you in such condition?
Kim Quek: All the grounds of objection raised by Rahman against local elections are applicable too to state elections and parliamentary elections; so by his logic, these should better be abolished? Then we will have no racial tensions?
In the first place, racial polarisation is the cornerstone of Umno’s policy in the bid to perpetuate its political hegemony; and as long as Umno remains in power, racial polarisation will continue to block national integration while racial tension is a perennial plague.
Second, voting along racial lines has been reduced in recent years, thanks to Pakatan Rakyat’s relentless effort in campaigning against racism, as evidenced in GE12 and GE13, when hordes of Chinese voted for PAS and PKR Malay candidates, while Malay voters supported DAP without second thoughts, thus accounting for its spectacular success in capturing 52% of the popular votes against 47% for BN in 2013.
Third, local elections is the first baby step of any country aspiring to be a democracy, as happened in the case of then Malaya, when we held our local elections in the early 50s, followed by a national election in 1954 for limited self-government before Merdeka.
Hence, it’s utter folly for Rahman to object to local elections, as this reveals his contempt for democracy.
Progressive: In summary - according to PAS president Abdul Hadi Awang and the rest of the racists - local elections will give some sort of political power to the Chinese and this will inflame the Malays and they will go on a killing spree like in May 13, 1969.
This in not the culture of the Malays, but the culture of goons. Indeed, many Chinese lives were protected by the Malays in that incident. Instead of condemning the killing of innocent people, Hadi and others are justifying and encouraging murder.
History is replete with dire consequences of apartheid-like policies against the minorities. There is no alternative to non-discrimination policies.
The Malay leadership should take a leaf from PM Najib Razak's inclusive thinking and lead the Malays in the right direction. Anything less would be disastrous to our beloved nation.
Caripasal: The educate urban Malays are backing the opposition as its leaders are generally wiser, less corrupted and more sincere in helping the rakyat than filling their wallet.
It is not a surprise BN would back Hadi. Hadi and BN are already sleeping on the same bed.
Jenglot: The demise of the local council elections had not in any way deterred the political or the democratic development of the nation. In fact it eliminated a messy affair and reduced politicking.
Any attempt to revive the local council election now is probably a step in regression.
Rick Teo: The mess in local councils is caused by political appointees because they are not accountable to the people. This leads to complacency.
Only democratic elections can determine the best qualified people to lead the local councils. Why appoint kampong idiots to govern urban areas?
Fair Play: Rahman, indeed I am really, really surprised that a person of your calibre (intellectual reasoning and mental capacity) can become a cabinet minister.
If the entire town councillors of a particular town are made up of one race but they serve with fairness to all, who really cares? Would a Malay want a Malay councillor who only serves himself? Likewise a Chinese or an Indian Malaysian?
Why not give a credible answer instead of agreeing with Hadi on the basis of 'blind loyalty' or worse still, herd mentality?
Basically: Rahman is not impartial in this matter; not having local elections suits him best as it is under his ministry. The man talks nothing but pure rubbish.
Spending on local elections is costly, but the PM gallivanting around the world in a private jet is not? Having elected representatives will lead to higher taxes? Tell that to the Kuala Lumpur mayor who forced a 200 percent hike down our throats.
As for the racial issue, that is utter manure. He is saying, Chinese shouldn’t have too much voting power, is it? Is he saying having a Chinese elected (assuming all Chinese vote by race), it is not good for unity? That's pure racism.
Well, then why not force the Chinese to live in ghettos that do not have elections at all. Moron.
Anonymous #19098644: Only bigoted idiots with limited intelligence think this way. Using their logic, only Malays will vote and represent Malays and Ibans will vote and represent Ibans. Thus no Indians will be elected.
Thus BN and Umno are only fit to represent Malays and thus all non-Malays have no representation. How stupid can this bunch of racist clowns be?
You can’t have democracy without local polls
Biggest threat to racial polarisation is, yes, Umno
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