Press Statement by DAP Secretary-General's Office in DAP Headquarters at Petaling Jaya on Tuesday, 29^th December 2009:

DAP did not agree to any Pakatan Rakyat manifesto scrapping local government elections but will amend federal laws to allow local government democracy and restore the 3rd vote

I am directed to correct the report in The Star on 27.12.2009 which misquoted DAP Secretary-General and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng as saying that DAP had agreed to the scrapping of local government elections following objections from other component parties in PR. The erroneous report is as follows:-

"DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng recently said Pakatan parties were not against the idea of local council elections but had reached “an understanding” that the measure advocated now was to build up transparent local authorities to serve the people well. Lim said the decision to scrap the idea of local council elections saw strong views from all parties concerned but the issue was ironed out by way of a consensus."

At no time did Lim say that the DAP had agreed to the scrapping of local government elections. What Lim had said was that DAP had agreed to the other parties' request for the term "local government elections" be replaced by the term "strengthening local government democracy". Strengthening local government democracy was clearly spelt out as including local government elections. This was clearly stated in Lim's speech:-

"Yang kita hendak sembahkan pagi ini adalah satu Dasar PR yang telah dipersetujui oleh ketiga-tiga parti komponen PAS, DAP dan PKR. Ia adalah satu dokumen penting yang merangkumi semua titik perjuangan kita bersama. Oleh kerana itu ia tidak akan memuaskan hati semua orang seperti DAP yang mahu dinyatakan dengan jelas istilah ‘pilihanraya kerajaan tempatan’ tetapi bersedia menerima istilah “mengukuhkan demokrasi kerajaan tempatan’ sebagai pengganti yang tentunya mencakupi pilihanraya kerajaan tempatan. "

Lim had stressed that as federal laws do not allow local government elections, PR will amend the necessary federal laws as one of the first actions of a future PR federal government to allow the conduct of local government elections. DAP remains steadfast in restoring the 3rd vote and people's power at local government level.

* DAP Secretary-General's Office