malaysiakini logo
story-image
mk-logo
News
Umno, PAS 'biggest beneficiaries' of local gov't elections, says Bangi MP
Published:  Dec 13, 2018 10:41 AM
Updated: 2:54 AM
ADS

Umno and PAS will be the biggest beneficiaries if local government elections are conducted, DAP's MP for Bangi, Ong Kian Ming, said today.

Saying that the opposition parties should support local elections, Ong said it would give Umno and PAS greater access to local government positions and policies, especially for Umno, which has lost its power in eight states.

"The biggest beneficiaries of local elections in this current context would actually be Umno, followed by PAS. Umno has lost power in eight states it used to control before GE14 (Kedah, Terengganu, Perak, Negeri Sembilan, Malacca, Johor, Sabah and also Wilayah Persekutuan Kuala Lumpur).

"Umno now finds itself on the receiving end of having MPs and ADUNs in these states but having no formal access to the local governments there. Having local elections will allow Umno and PAS to gain representation at the local government level and give them greater access to local government positions and policies.

"If both these parties are serious about strengthening democracy (even if it is for their own benefit), this would be as good a time as any for them to advocate for the restoration of local elections," Ong added in a statement.

His statement comes three days after Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad declared that local council elections are off the table and also warned that its reinstatement could lead to racial conflict and widen the urban-rural divide.

Ong, who is also DAP's assistant national director for political education, said the notion that having local elections would lead to a racial strife was not reflected in the latest demographic figures.

Large migrations of Malays to urban areas

Quoting an old statement of his, Ong said the large migration of Malays from the rural to the urban areas "have made areas like Kuala Lumpur very different from today from what it was in 1969".

He said: "According to the 2010 census data, the Malay population in the Federal Territory of Kuala Lumpur (45.9 percent) outnumbers the Chinese population (43.2 percent).

"In fact, out of the three city halls, nine city councils and 37 municipal councils in Malaysia, only six have populations where the Chinese outnumber the Malays – Ipoh, Kuching Selatan, Johor Bahru Tengah, Penang, Sibu and Subang Jaya!

"In other words, 88 percent of these large urban areas have a plurality and in most cases, a majority, of Malay residents. Even in a place like Petaling Jaya, the Malay population (46.2 percent) outnumbers the Chinese population (39.6 percent)."

Ong added that while he did not have the updated population statistics from the local authorities, the latest 2017 population figures showed that bumiputeras make up 47 percent of the Kuala Lumpur population, compared to 42 percent Chinese and 10 percent Indian.

He said 46 percent of the population in Penang comprises bumiputeras, while the Chinese accounted for 44 percent and the Indians, 10 percent.

View Comments