Hadi: Local elections aping the West, will only benefit the Chinese

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 21 — PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang has again scoffed at local council elections today, claiming proposals to reinstate the third vote here are merely aping what Western countries are doing.

The cleric also claimed that Pakatan Harapan (PH) component DAP has been a strong proponent of local council elections as they will benefit the Chinese community in the long run, rather than other ethnic groups.

“The DAP, which is strongly supportive of local council elections, takes into account only the Chinese voters and would disregard the others races and parties who are the pulse and nerve of multi-racial and multi-religious cities in which all of its relationships and sensitivities must be well guarded,” he said in a statement.

In scathing remarks aimed at PH and its component parties, Hadi said that DAP, PKR and those aligned with them could “dominate” cities such as Kuala Lumpur, Ipoh, Seremban, Kota Melaka, Johor Baru and Penang, among others.

However, he claimed parties like PKR and Amanah’s control over such cities would only be temporary.

Back in May, coalition of Muslim groups Ummah had also opposed Putrajaya’s plan to bring back local council elections, claiming such a system would allow more non-Malays and non-Muslims to hold power in the country.

The president of the Islamist party today also warned against continuing a system left behind by the British, calling it a form of social engineering by the colonisers for their own sake then.

“The colonisers did not just build houses, businesses and other [amenities] in the towns developed by them. At the same time, they also moulded a society that is problematic and bound to collide [with one another].

“They also organised human development following their own form,” he said.

Hadi added that Malaysia’s diverse social groups coupled with their differences in education, economic status and politics were also governed by the interests of the colonialists in the short and long term.

“It is all for their sake, not our interests, so we became a society that is in disarray,” he said.

PH had pledged to restore local council elections as part of its reform and transparency drive, but Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad rejected the idea claiming it may end up causing racial strife in the country as the needs of urban and rural communities differ greatly.

Despite Malay-Muslim groups’ concern, DAP MP Ong Kian Ming asserted that with the overwhelming Bumiputera population in all but six cities nationwide, policy-making and local government representation would remain firmly in the hands of Malays and Muslims.