The Malaysian government’s proposed study on whether Kuala Lumpur should elect its mayor instead of being appointed has detonated into what observers call a familiar “cultural war” over race, power and who gets to run the nation’s capital.
The feasibility study announced by Hannah Yeoh, a minister from the Chinese-dominated Democratic Action Party, has also drawn criticism that the exercise is a political project pushed by her party.
Findings of the study by the International Islamic University Malaysia will be released to the public in March, Yeoh, minister from the prime minister’s department, said on Sunday in an interview with the local Chinese daily China Press.
The plan has caused discomfort among some segments in Malaysia, where ethnic politics often influence how voters cast their ballots. For Malay-based parties, it also revives a deeply entrenched fear that urban electorates could dilute Malay political primacy, according to analysts.
Opposition lawmaker Takiyuddin Hassan from the Malay-nationalist coalition Perikatan Nasional (PN) led the backlash, calling the proposal “overly simplistic, naive and misguided” and warning it would not automatically improve governance at Kuala Lumpur City Hall.
“The administrative effectiveness of a city does not depend solely on how its leadership is selected, whether by election or appointment, but rather on the strength of its institutions, governance systems and management culture,” he said in a statement.
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