The Pakatan Harapan government will start holding elections for city mayors and local council presidents as soon as the country's economy is stabilised, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin announced today.
Even so, she told reporters the ministry would study the matter in six months time, but estimates the elections could be held within three years.
"Local councils are the third government (after the federal and state governments), so it is only proper to have mayoral (and local council presidential) elections now, especially since there are issues that we would like to update.
"We will look at this in six months, and will study how to carry this out as soon as possible, considering the debt (liabilities) is more than RM1 trillion, which we must first stabilise.
"I can say that it will take place in (an estimated) three years," Zuraida told reporters after visiting 1Malaysia Transit Home in Bukit Jalil today.
Reinstating local government elections, which were last held in the country in 1964, has been one of the new government's promises.
Zuraida cautioned, however, that the need to hold local council elections should not be a financial burden to the federal government.
As such, she added, her ministry's books should be balanced to expedite the process.
"I do not want to add to the (federal government's financial) burden right now, so if my ministry can reduce the budget, then we can speed up the process (of holding local council elections) without waiting for the fiscal situation to stablise.
"If not, we could perhaps hold the election in stages.
"We maybe can't hold them all over the country (at the same time), but we assess certain states such as Selangor, which is very developed, or Penang, which has been under Pakatan (Harapan)," she added. -Mkini
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