WITH all the euphoria and emphasis on the new federal administration, it is easy to forget sometimes, that along with Putrajaya, seven other state governments fell out of Barisan Nasional’s hands last month.

This presents Pakatan Harapan the golden opportunity to reboot not only the federal ministries and agencies, but the states’ as well.

One such area that could use an overhaul would be local government.

Already, calls for local government elections have increased again. The newly minted PH minister for housing and local government has set a two-year target date for the new government to hold them.

While that is welcome, a paradigm shift in mindset and attitudes is needed when it comes to local councils.

Under the former BN system of patronage, local council positions were distributed as rewards of loyalty to component party members, while many councillors served as monitors within the board to distribute contract awards to friendly parties.

A large number of contracts are constantly awarded by local councils, demonstrating their large scope of work – landscape maintenance, building maintenance, upkeep of roads and public infrastructure, rubbish collection, prevention of vector diseases, preservation of historical sites and so on.

Enormous powers were once wielded by councillors, especially those who also held assembly or parliamentary seats, in dictating terms and awards.

Pakatan Rakyat in 2008 stopped this practice in Selangor and Penang, forcing other states to follow. They also increased the pay of the councillors, although the amount remains much smaller than an MP or assemblyman’s pay.

The dismantling of a largesse system and eradication of corruption should go hand-in-glove with an increase in compensation for people who are taking over from those who made money from such means, to avoid sliding back into the same problem.

The same applies to other government appointments – government-linked companies, state agencies and so on. While this decision may not be a politically popular one, the larger picture needs to be considered here. In the end, a leaner and less corrupt system will yield obvious results for the people to judge.

Annual fixed allocations should be reviewed, as they have somewhat lost their purpose, and often used for urgent repairs, throwing functions and so on.

These funds should instead be disbursed according to needs – some areas do not really need the funds, as they consist mostly of well-to-do neighbourhoods where the developers or residents’ associations do most of the heavy lifting, whereas some areas comprise low-cost housing where the funds are highly insufficient.

Selected community events should be funded by the council, not the councillors who are often forced to seek out sponsors of their own.

Enterprise and productivity need to be injected into local governments as well. We see this in the richer, more urban local councils like Kuala Lumpur City Hall or Petaling Jaya City Council which collaborate with civil society groups and agencies in promoting arts and culture, sustainable development concepts, and even promoting start-ups or running clinics, while in reality it is the poorer councils that require this more to uplift their communities and spur the local economy.

The DUN Angkat programme under the Selangor government could be replicated here to a council angkat programme to share expertise and the funds could be distributed in a more equitable manner.

While reviewing the delivery channels and mechanisms for the various ministries, especially the junior ones, perhaps the new federal government could consider increasing the use of local councils, especially in rural areas.

Local councils are in more ways than some, already a microcosm of a federal government, with departments in charge of health, planning, law, finance, culture, corporate affairs, enforcement religion, and tourism and so on.

Apart from helping the respective ministries save on costs, it would also strengthen the councils that require the most help in terms of cash flow and exposure.

It’s high time local councils and councillors be given the due recognition for the critical, diverse and high impact role they play in our everyday lives. – June 6, 2018.

* Emmanuel Joseph firmly believes that Klang is the best place on Earth, and that motivated people can do far more good than any leader with motive.

* This is the opinion of the writer or publication and does not necessarily represent the views of The Malaysian Insight. Article may be edited for brevity and clarity.