Local government elections – Now, later or never?

The Law Reform & Special Areas Committee of the Bar Council is pleased to announce that it would be holding a public forum on local government elections titled Local Government Elections – Now, Later or Never? The forum will be held on Saturday, 10 October 2009, from 8.30 am to 1.00 pm at the Bar Council Auditorium.

The Reason
During the last few years, there have been many complaints about the lack of transparency and accountability of local councils. Some complaints were with regards to the manner in which the local councillors were chosen. During the run-up to the 2008 General Elections, some political parties made promises to re-introduce the elections of local councillors – a right Malaysians enjoyed until the late 60s. Now, 18 months after the elections, we call on all parties to re-visit and re-examine the issue.

The Focus
In this forum, we have lined up several distinguished speakers. Prof Dr Johan Saravanamuthu will take us through the history and the circumstances that led to the loss of the third vote.

M Murgan (Legal Advisor, Municipal Council of Penang Island) and Andrew Khoo (Bar Council Human Rights Committee Chairperson) would speak on whether the law, as it stands today, would allow the State Government to call for local government elections.

YB Liew Chin Tong, Member of Parliament for Bukit Bendera and Wong Chin Huat, Journalism Lecturer, Monash University of Malaysian Campus, would prod us with the question – Would elected local councillors do a better job?

We expect the forum to be educational, informative and thought-provoking. This forum is open to the Members of the Bar and members of the public and is free-of-charge. But due to space constraints, it would be on a first-come, first-served basis.

For more details and to register, kindly contact Sumitha at 03-2031 3003 ext 194/Direct line 03-2031 3467 or email sumitha@malaysianbar.org.my. The registration form can be faxed to 03-2026 1313 or 03-2034 2825.

Malaysian Bar Council