Well, this sure is a glaring example of abuse of power by local governments. This happened because the local councillors are government-appointees: they only “answer” to the person who is in power, i.e. those who feed them, and not to their constituents or the residents which they are supposed to be responsible for.

I recall reading an article in (ironically) the New Straits Times some few months back which calls for a return to local elections as it was before the 1955 elections, before it was repealed in the Constitution, initiated by the Tunku. The Tunku did this because he was worried about the ground gained by the Opposition as opposed to the Alliance coalition he led at the time. Unfortunately the result of such myopic action is what we see now today. Local councillors think that their position are God-given right and that they are not answerable to anyone. Thus it is of no surprise that cases such as the unapproved construction of “Istana Zakaria” in Padamaran or the unlicensed satay house have occured and are only now coming to light.

The only way to stop such abuses of power is only if the person elected answers to the electorate who placed him (or her) in that position. Local elections are a way to bring back accountability and responsibility back to the system.