AUGUST 7 — To say that this concept of a local council election is new to Malaysia would be a gross fallacy. 

In December of 1956, George Town had its fully elected council which was run by the Alliance, the predecessor to the now Barisan Nasional. 

Ipoh too had its local council elections which was led by the Perak Progressive Party which later became the Peoples’ Progressive Party [PPP]. 

Stories we hear from the senior members of this country was that the municipal council under D.S. Seenivasagam was the benchmark for good administration. 

Now, before someone suggests a royal commission of inquiry or a committee of sorts to look into this, note that such a royal commission did investigate this; the Royal Commission of Inquiry to Investigate Into The Workings of Local Authorities in West Malaysia in 1956. 

It was led by the late Senator Datuk Athi Nahappan. One of the key recommendations from the Athi Nahappan Report was for local government elections. 

Now why am I calling for local council elections? I, like thousands of citizens out there, am just sick and tired of our lethargic local councils when faced with certain key issues under their jurisdiction. 

Why are the local councils not engaging with the many NGOs who are willing and able to work with them to humanly deal with the strays? — Picture by Farhan Najib
Why are the local councils not engaging with the many NGOs who are willing and able to work with them to humanly deal with the strays? — Picture by Farhan Najib

Allow me to justify this scathing remark: 

  1. Stalls covering walkways: Why is it now acceptable for stalls to litter walkways? This forces people, especially the elderly and the visually impaired who depend on the tactile surfaces, to walk on the road allowing them to be easy roadkill targets. 

     

    This baffles me: the local council spends millions of taxpayers money to construct medans and taman seleras only for stalls to operate rent free and license free on walkways. 

    How is this fair to restaurant owners who operate in proper outlets and who have paid thousands in license fees? Just make a trip to where I stay at Taman Seri Sentosa, Kuala Lumpur. There are barely any walkways left. 

  2. The handling of strays: This is a neverending saga. Many dogs meet their doom in these raids. Who is monitoring them during these raids? Why are the local councils not engaging with the many NGOs who are willing and able to work with them to humanly deal with the strays? We need dogs for search and rescue missions and then when we are done with them, they are disposable?
  3. The trimming of trees: Time and time again, local councils are advised to hire arborists to advise on the maintenance and care of trees. We have trimmers who prefer to bald the trees and leave stumps in their place. Can we please do better and not be ridiculous in our approach to tree management? Engage bodies like Persatuan Arborist Malaysia [ParM] for example in dealing with issues such as this. 

Local councils can and ought to do better because the people deserve better. Whenever we speak of local councils, the term “little Napoleons” surfaces. Should there really be little Napoleons rooted in local councils, perhaps it’s time to whistle blow on them and bring in MACC. It is election season after all. Why not bring back local council elections? 

Finally, a caveat here where the treatment of strays is concerned. Just as the burden is on the local council to treat them with much reverence and care, I believe that it is high time pet owners face the full extent of the law for abandoning their animals when they are done with them. 

* This is the personal opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of Malay Mail.