DAP will continue to push for local council elections, but will give priority to delivering promises in the Pakatan Harapan manifesto for now, said Lim Guan Eng.

The DAP secretary-general said the party was not giving up on the third vote, but would pursue it in future.

“First we need to deliver on the promises of the PH manifesto. Secondly, we need to convince PH to agree to local council elections,” he told reporters in the Parliament lobby today.

He said it was vital to get agreement from all four parties in the coalition before introducing the elections.

Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad said Putrajaya had ruled out local council elections as they may lead to race-related conflicts in the country. 

“Local council elections may produce the wrong results.

“The urban areas may be different from the rural areas. There will be conflicts emphasised by racial differences and the like.

“We don’t want that to happen,” he said at the Empowering Local Councils Convention at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre earlier today. 

PH had previously suggested the introduction of local government elections if it came to power, although it was not stated in the election manifesto. 

In May, Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin also said Putrajaya would start holding elections for city mayors and local council presidents as soon as the economy was stable.

Lim said that although it was not in the election manifesto, the party would continue to support it. 

“We support it despite it not being stated in the PH manifesto, because we feel there should be greater democracy and people should be given the right to vote,” he said. – December 10, 2018.