Survey finds only one out of 858 residents in Selangor can accurately name their mayor, amid state polls buzz

KUALA LUMPUR, June 27 — While 93 per cent of residents in Selangor — the country’s most populous state — know which local council they fall under, only 0.7 per cent or six out of 858 locals polled in a recent survey on local election literacy were confident they knew the name of the local government council head.

The survey conducted between April 17 to June 6 by non-governmental organisation Kuasa also found that of the six people, five ended up giving incorrect answers when asked to name their council president or mayor.

Most of those who claimed to know the answer inevitably ended up naming the state menteri besar or a state or federal lawmaker instead, Kuasa chief executive Praba Ganesan said today in releasing the results of the survey.

“It's an amazing thing, like the local council covers 90 per cent of all the things that matters to the citizens such as garbage collection, public amenities, drainage, yet almost everybody in Selangor is clueless about who is in-charge of the organisation that delivers this to the people.

“So this is the starting part of disconnect. I think it's a huge problem for the state and its democracy,” he told reporters.

At present, Praba said the level of engagement between residents and the local councils is extremely poor, with communities and their civil societies effectively stifled by walls of confusion, misinformation and bureaucracy.

He said that the councillors are often beholden to their political masters at the state level rather than the local constituents they serve because Malaysia does not currently hold local council elections.

As such, he said these councillors are reduced to mere rubber stampers that lack any real authority to make decisions for the local community.

Praba said his assertion is backed up by the survey results that showed half of the 14.4 per cent residents polls to be involved in community organisations, whether resident associations or village committees, and said they know little or nothing about their local council’s power dynamics.

With Selangor and five other states about to undergo elections, Praba said it was bizarre that none of the contesting political parties have brought up the issue of local council elections as a discussion point.

Kuasa chief executive Praba Ganesan (right) holding up a copy of the PBT Selangor survey conducted by Kuasa during a press conference in Taman Pertama Cheras June 27, 2023. — Picture by Hari Anggara

He noted that parties contesting in the upcoming state polls in Selangor could possibly secure victory through untapped support by advocating for local council election reforms.

“We do not expect the local council overnight obviously, but then there is zero effort to move it in that direction.

“The truth is local council elections are not something that the state or federal government is interested in bringing; and with the state election coming, for them not to speak about it is a moral hazard.

“They are just relying on the ignorance of the people by saying since one does not ask, there is no need to provide for such elections,” he said.