No Need Local Polls Just Appoint An Efficient Person As Mayor Says Bersatu Man

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Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz shoots down calls by DAP for local elections following the appointment of the newest Kuala Lumpur mayor.
Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz said those with creative ideas should be considered for the post of mayor. (Bernama pic)PETALING JAYA: Kuala Lumpur needs an efficient administrator to manage the capital, a Bersatu leader said in dismissing renewed calls by DAP for local elections following the appointment of Fadlun Mak Ujud as mayor
“There is no need to burden the people and potential successors with elections, which would only lead to politicking, lobbying and encouraging corruption,” Bersatu information chief Tun Faisal Ismail Aziz told FMT.
He also said that those with creative ideas should be considered for the post.
On Sunday, federal territories DAP chief Tan Kok Wai had repeated his party’s call for the restoration of local council elections in Kuala Lumpur, saying such polls “must be brought back as soon as possible”.
Tan said Kuala Lumpur had not had a mayor or federal territories minister who truly met the benchmark for developing a well-run and high-integrity capital city despite multiple people filling the posts over the years.
Fadlun was appointed as mayor on Saturday, replacing Maimunah Sharif who was supposed to serve until Aug 16 next year, but whose term was shortened.
Tun Faisal said that even without local elections for a mayor to manage the capital, Kuala Lumpur had garnered a number of accolades.
Last year, it was ranked the second most outstanding city in Southeast Asia behind Singapore in the Oxford Economics Global Cities Index 2024.
In July meanwhile, it broke into the global top 15 best student cities for the first time, occupying 12th spot in the latest Quacquarelli Symonds Best Student Cities Rankings.
It also came in fourth in Asia, behind Seoul, Tokyo and Singapore.
PAS central committee member Awang Hashim said Tan had only claimed that no mayor or federal territories minister had met the benchmark because they were not on the same page as DAP.
“In this case, none of them (past mayors and ministers) had proposed local elections,” he said. - FMT

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