Do Not Turn Study On Kuala Lumpur Mayoral Election Into Polemics - Loke

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 3 (Bernama) -- The study on the proposed elections for the Kuala Lumpur mayor post should not be turned into a polemic, as if a decision to implement it has already been made, said DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke.

He said the study, in addition to assessing whether a mayoral election would be feasible, also evaluated its pros and cons.

“This is merely a study to assess its feasibility. There is no need for any party to turn this into a polemic,” he told reporters after a working visit to Terminal Bersepadu Selatan (TBS) here today.

Loke, who is also the Transport Minister, said mayoral elections were not a new concept and had long been practised in democratic countries around the world.

Minister in the Prime Minister's Department (Federal Territories) Hannah Yeoh was reported as saying that the study had been undertaken by the International Islamic University of Malaysia since last December, following a private member’s bill tabled by several MPs to amend the Federal Capital Act 1960 and implement governance reforms in Kuala Lumpur.

Commenting further, Loke said that Kuala Lumpur City Hall was different from other state local authorities because its mayor is appointed by the federal government.

He stressed that the issue should not be regarded as the agenda of any single political party, as several other quarters had also proposed it previously.

“This is not a DAP issue. Many other parties have also proposed it, including (former Health Minister) Khairy Jamaluddin, who recently said at a forum that Kuala Lumpur should hold a mayoral election to ensure greater accountability,” he said.

Meanwhile, Loke said that beginning this month, it would be mandatory for all online ticketing agents (OTAs) to integrate QR codes into every express bus ticket sold.

He said the move was aimed at addressing congestion at TBS, where passengers previously had to queue at the counter just to convert their OTA tickets into QR codes.

“Starting this month, all tickets sold via OTAs must include a QR code. Passengers will no longer need to exchange their tickets for a QR code when they arrive at TBS,” he said.

Loke said that passengers who had purchased bus tickets before February and did not have a QR code could still obtain the code online through the official TBS portal for RM1 or obtain it at the counter.

In another development, Loke also said that the Road Transport Department’s (JPJ) Bandar Sri Permaisuri branch office would be relocating to TBS starting in March.

“The old office was in a shop lot, which caused congestion as people queued to deal with JPJ. The new location is more user-friendly, with ample parking and convenient access by public transport,” he said.

-- BERNAMA