KUALA LUMPUR: Several Perikatan Nasional MPs today rejected local government elections, after Zuraida Kamaruddin, the housing and local government minister said yesterday she was preparing a paper on the matter.
Noh Omar (BN-Tanjong Karang) said local government elections were part of the PH manifesto and it was not part of PN’s policy.
“The minister (Zuraida) had also said Langkawi MP did not agree. If Langkawi (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) does not agree, then the minister should just cancel it,” he said.
Fahmi Fadzil (PH-Lembah Pantai) then asked if Noh would withdraw from being a government MP if Zuraida were to submit a paper to implement local government elections by mid-2021.
Noh reiterated that local government elections were part of PH’s policies.
Nik Muhammad Zawawi Salleh (PAS-Pasir Puteh) then said his party would also reject local government elections.
Kapit MP Alexander Nanta Linggi (GPS-Kapit) and Willie Mongin (PPBM-Puncak Borneo) said they too did not want local government elections.
Noh then asked Zuraida not to submit the working paper to the Cabinet for consideration.
Zuraida had said yesterday that Mahathir was not in favour of local government elections when she proposed it at a Cabinet meeting while she was still with PH and Mahathir was prime minister.
She had also said her ministry had been working on a model since June 2018, adding that it would be forwarded to the Cabinet for discussion, and if approved it would be brought to the Dewan Rakyat.
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