Mayors should be elected, not appointed - Muda

SHAH ALAM - Kuala Lumpur and Putrajaya residents should elect a mayor through local government elections.

According to Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) federal territory branch, a provision to elect Mayors should be enacted.

"The mayor must be elected by the people instead of being appointed.

"The mayors keep on changing but the situation remains the same. The local authorities (PBT) seem far removed from their responsibilities towards the community, the failure of the local authorities in solving problems faced by residents is also often a source of concern and dissatisfaction.

"The voice and concerns of the people of Kuala Lumpur are currently only carried by our MPs in Parliament ," it said in a statement on Friday.

However, according to Muda, all day-to-day problems regarding local government are not under the jurisdiction of MP's.

Muda said it was only logical for elections to be held as, the Mayor appointed needs to deal with a large population and not to mention large amounts of income.

"It would be more transparent if the residents or voters knew where the PBT spending was and it would be better if the residents and voters could monitor and hold the elected representatives accountable.

"This can not only involve the people in the democratic process of local government, but it can also improve the administrative capacity of DBKL and the Putrajaya Corporation," the statement read