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Press Statement by M.Kulasegaran in Ipoh Barat on Friday, 15th August 2008:  Elected representatives should be appointed as ex-officio members! Local Government elections was abolished in 1967 and with that the most important form of direct election was abolished. It was replaced with the appointment of local councillors by the State Government and continues to this day. This practise of appointment is clearly against all accepted norms and principles of democracy. Therefore the reintroduction of local council elections is a important and urgent to restore the people's trust and believe in democracy and accountability. The sooner this is done i.e returning local council elections, the better. Any further delay is fatal as it weakens the trust of the people in national leaders. But up to now the Federal Government seems to be the only party which can institute changes to the Local Government Act of 1976 for local elections to be reintroduced. Most of the duties and functions of the local authorities involves, among other matters,finding solutions to clogged drains, uncut grass, traffic jams, potholes, spread of mosquito born diseases, uncollected rubbish, illegal hawkers and lack of a safe environment. In short these are daily problems ordinary people are faced with. These problems are dearest and nearest to the public and which have to be handled or dealt with by the local authorities. In relation to finding solutions to the above matters each local council has set up sub-committees to deal with these matters. In Perak we have 15 local authorities. The Ipoh City Council(MBI) has 8 sub committees. In all these sub committees the unelected local councillors and certain local council staffs of the relevant department deliberate on matters and decide. But unfortunately no elected representatives (Members of Parliament or state assemblymen) are currently allowed to sit, participate or attend meetings of the various sub-committees. As the local council are dealing with issues in areas where the elected representatives are also heavily involved it would be prudent if elected representatives are also appointed as ex-officious members of the sub- committees. The elected reps can express their views and concerns of the local people in the sub committee for action to be taken. Presently the local authorities are totally detached from the elected representatives and this is not healthy and contrary to accepted democratic principles. Elected representatives should be appointed as ex-officio members but without voting rights. Further all sub-committee meetings should be open to the public and held after office hours to allow public participation. By appointing the representatives we should be able to see the CAT (competency, accountable and transparency) principles at work and will enhance efficiency and provision of better service for ratepayers. I urge the Perak Government to consider appointing all elected representatives to be appointed to the various local council in the constituency in where the local councils cover their elected area. * M.Kulasegaran, DAP National Vice Chairman & MP for Ipoh Barat