KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 ― Putrajaya will only allow local council elections if Malaysians are mature, Umno minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor said, pointing to the “abuse” of electronic media as a sign of immaturity.

The Federal Territories minister highlighted a doctored image on social media of former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, who was made to look as if he was holding up flyers of the Bersih 4 rally, as well as a fake image of a purported Astro Awani report that quoted former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin as saying that Malaysia would be bankrupt next month.

“That's the problem with our people. Our people are not mature,” Tengku Adnan told Malay Mail Online in an interview at the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) headquarters here yesterday.

“You want to have a three-tier government? Are we mature? You want to have a local council election? Are we mature? Society is not mature. If we were mature, we can give.

“We've given you space, we've given you freedom. What is happening to us now? Look, we should only play politics during election time. Throughout the year, you play politics. How can? We need to work man. Please lah,” the Umno secretary-general said, ahead of the Bersih 4 rally this weekend organised by polls reform group Bersih 2.0.

Tengku Adnan also claimed that the Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government was “very nice”, saying: “We've got a very good government who gives a lot of space”, despite the government’s plans to regulate the Internet and to block websites on the Bersih 4 rally.

The DAP has been pushing to restore the third vote, though the Penang state government lost last August its bid at the Federal Court to reinstate local government elections.

BN and Islamist opposition party PAS have opposed local elections, with then-Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin saying last January that the third vote was impractical and that it could lead to imbalanced racial representation, since urban areas are heavily concentrated with the non-Bumiputera.

The Philippines and developed countries like the US and the UK have local council elections, where their city mayors are elected. In contrast, the mayors of Kuala Lumpur and other cities nationwide are appointed.

“Our appointed mayors are useless? You mean we're not doing our jobs?” Tengku Adnan said.

When questioned about public transport in the capital city, the minister said Malaysians don’t want to use public transport.

“For example, if I put ERP in Kuala Lumpur, there'll be a public outcry,” he said, referring to the Electronic Road Pricing system practised in neighbouring Singapore, where motorists are charged upon using certain roads during peak hours.

Tengku Adnan added that the ERP cannot be implemented currently as the Mass Rapid Transit (MRT) system has yet to complete and also because of gaps in the public transport system, such as providing buses for commuters to take to LRT stations.

He also criticised Malaysians who refuse to use covered walkways in the city, saying that most of them are used by tourists instead.

“Malaysians, maybe 50 per cent of them use from KLCC to Pavilion, that's the most popular one,” said Tengku Adnan. “Malaysians, they can park their car at their apartment; [if they can], they’ll put it in the lift and bring it up”.