Third vote must represent all races, say PAS
By G. Manimaran and Syed Mu’az Syed Putra
PAS has proposed a mix of elected and nominated councillors for local governments to reflect the interests of various groups and races if the Election Commission (EC) agrees to implement the third vote.
PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar is leading a special party committee overseeing all aspects of the third vote that will ensure the interest of professionals, activists and all races will be included in the administration if there are local government elections.
The EC is due to announce its response later today to holding such elections after requests from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) states Penang and Selangor.
“The PAS committee will see how the third vote can be implemented while taking care of any concerns it will be unfair,” Mahfuz told The Malaysian Insider, stressing the Islamist party supports strengthening local democracy as outlined in PR’s Common Policy Framework.
The PAS-dominated PR governments in both Kedah and Kelantan have yet to announce their support for local government elections, triggering talk that the party is not supporting the move pushed by the DAP within the coalition.
But Mahfuz said PAS just wanted to ensure that all levels of society are represented in local councils rather than it remain a race among politicians to dominate another layer of government.
“There are the ultra-Malays, especially Umno, who claim that local government elections will reduce Malay representation if a particular race wins. Only one party would spread such concerns,” the Pokok Sena MP added.
He said apart from racial balance, there were also concerns about representation from both professional and NGO groups, including the business community.
