SHAH ALAM, 4 Feb: The local authority election is able to strengthen the democratic system in Malaysia and not involve the interests of DAP.
Serdang Member of Parliament, Dr Ong Kian Ming, said that there are many places in urban areas that do not have the voice to represent them in the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) or in Parliament to express their problems and views.
He said, for example, there are certainly groups that will nominate their own members to fight against issues that come up such as the Kinrara-Damansara Expressway (Kidex) issue if the local authority elections are carried out in Petaling Jaya.
“It is not in favour of a particular party, but it is a grassroots movement to oppose projects that require an application to be extended from the local authorities.
“Indeed, there are groups that will nominate and could win council seats in urban areas such as Petaling Jaya. It does not represent a particular race, instead issues including the environment and public transport,” he said.
He said this when attending the Malaysian Plural and Democratic Society Forum at the Shah Alam Convention Centre (SACC) yesterday.
DAP’s strategy experts also said that local authority elections would be able to provide opportunities to the plural society to voice different opinions on a given matter.
He is also confident that there will not be racial riots, as claimed, because Malaysians today are increasingly mature in accepting reforms.
“When the governments of Selangor, Penang and Kedah changed to Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in 2008, there were no racial riots. I am confident that Malaysians are mature to face local authority elections without involving riots and this could lead to a mature democracy,” he said.
NS
