Penang Watch

Columnists :: Local Counsel - By Goh Ban Lee

A New Trend of Change For Penang?

Penang CM has announced that his government has written to the SPR/EC to organise elections for the 2 councils in the state-but has he taken note of the suggestion by Derek Fernandez below on how it could have been done? If he has not taken the step-then the announcement is just a cheap publicity stunt for the 2nd anniversary of the mar 8th tsunami!

Ong BK

Derek Fernandez: Local Elections Possible Without Federal Approval

'Higher density areas will not result in more congestion'
by Opalyn Mok

GEORGE TOWN (Jan 27, 2010):
It is a misconception that higher density areas will ultimately mean
there will be too many people concentrated in these areas, said the
Real Estate and Housing Developers Association.

Its Penang chairman Datuk Jerry Chan said having more high density areas does not mean they will end up with very high density.

The Star
15 July 2009

Stumbling blocks to municipal polls
Reflecting on the Law
By SHAD SALEEM FARUQI

Local authority elections provide a suitable laboratory for testing
the principles of accountability, openness and transparency in
government. However, there are insurmountable legal hurdles.

EARLIER, it was Penang, and now Selangor is exploring the possibility
of having local authority elections. Commendable though this plan is,
there are two insurmountable legal hurdles.

Firstly, local government elections, last held in 1969, were abolished
by Section 15C of the Local Government Act 1976 and only the Federal

The term of office of the 2 Penang local councils are up by end of February-yet all are quiet on the council front. There was no jostling for councilors' positions as happened in the 1st time the Councilors posts were up for grab. There seems to be a unseen hand trying to guide media attention away from this controversial topic. But there was a pronouncement that give away some hints on what was to happen: NGOs reps will be removed from the future COuncils and a politician may be appointed instead of a civil servant to head the Penang COuncils!