The federal government must explain the decision to shorten the tenure of former Kuala Lumpur mayor Maimunah Sharif as the city’s governance has been disrupted, says Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad.
Nik Nazmi said the tenure of mayors should not be prematurely terminated without good reasons.
“The federal government must clarify why disrupting Kuala Lumpur’s governance like this was necessary,” he said in a statement.
Maimunah’s tenure ended today, instead of Aug 16 next year and she is to take up a new job as property adviser to Petronas from Nov 17, handling its property portfolio, particularly involving the Sungai Besi land, Kota Madani, and other development projects.
Nik Nazmi said the latest development is further proof that a change is needed as city residents have no say on how Kuala Lumpur is governed, with the sole power given to a mayor who is appointed by the federal government from the civil service.
He reiterated his call for local council elections to be restored as the best way to ensure accountability and better performance in city governance, with Kuala Lumpur having achieved developed status.
Nik Nazmi, a former PKR vice-president, gave a reminder that Pakatan Harapan had in its 2022 general election manifesto called for the people’s democratic participation at the local government level in Kuala Lumpur to be increased.
He also dismissed notions that local council elections would stoke racial tensions as nothing but mere fear-mongering.
“In fact, many do not realise that the biggest ethnicity in Kuala Lumpur is the Bumiputeras, consisting of almost half of the city’s population. There really is no good excuse to delay this any longer,” he added.
