GEORGE TOWN: George Town, which was the first local authority to conduct local government elections in 1857, has been touted to be the place for the rebirth of municipal elections in the country.
The state capital is among several local authorities shortlisted to hold the third tier polls once the proposal is approved by the cabinet.
Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin said Penang had expressed interest in carrying out the local election even when Pakatan Harapan was the opposition.
Penang moved the case to hold local authority elections to the Federal Court in 2014. However, the bid failed.
"It is doable, it can be done in stages. Penang is a matured state and they look ready.
"They tried when they were in the opposition but now since we are in the same government and when we want to implement it, Penang will be the number one state on the list," she said.
Earlier, Zuraida delivered a speech at the 'Pilihan Raya Tempatan: Siapa Untung, Siapa Rugi' forum held at Komtar here today.
She also reiterated that the local authority election would be held within three years.
The ministry, Zuraida said, is finalising the amendments to be made on the necessary laws and gathering feedback from the various stakeholders before they are presented to the Cabinet for approval.
Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had previously shot down the revival of local authority election, saying that it would lead to racial conflicts and widen the urban and rural gap.
State Housing, Town and Country Planning Committee chairman Jagdeep Singh Deo, who was also present at the forum today, was however against Dr Mahathir’s argument on the matter.
"MPs (members of parliament) are also chosen by the people in the General Election so where does the issue of rural and urban arise?
"If non-Pakatan Harapan reps were elected so be it. It can serve as a check and balance on us to govern better," he added.
Local government elections in Malaysia were suspended following the ‘Konfrantasi’ between Malaysia and Indonesia in 1964.
The suspension was never lifted and was instead made permanent through the Local Government Act 1976.
Under the Act, or the laws of individual states where relevant, local government members are appointed by the respective state government.