PETALING JAYA: Perikatan Nasional (PN) has urged the office of federal territories minister Hannah Yeoh to reconsider the focus of the study on proposed mayoral elections in Kuala Lumpur, saying there are bigger issues that must be addressed.
PN chief whip Takiyuddin Hassan said framing such elections as a primary instrument to strengthen the role and efficiency of Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) was “overly simplistic, naive and misguided”.
“If the true objective of the proposal is to improve DBKL’s performance, a more realistic and practical approach would be to focus the study on its core administrative and governance issues,” he said in a statement.
These include DBKL’s organisational structure, quality of leadership, human resource management, coordination among units, agencies and the federal government, integrity and enforcement mechanisms, priority-setting, as well as the quality, speed and consistency of decision-making, he said.
Takiyuddin, the PN deputy secretary-general, said the efficiency of a city’s administration did not hinge primarily on how its leadership was chosen – whether elected or appointed – but on the strength of its institutions, governance systems and management.
“There is no guarantee that a mayoral election will automatically result in better service delivery or governance.
“Rather, it might introduce additional problems, including the politicisation of city administration, electoral populism, conflicts between an elected mayor and the federal government, and policy instability driven by election cycles rather than long-term urban planning,” he said.
‘Serious legal, constitutional issues’
The Kota Bharu MP also raised concerns about legal and constitutional issues which he said must be addressed before any discussion on mayoral elections can begin.
He said that based on the Federal Constitution, the administration of Kuala Lumpur fell directly under the federal government’s purview. Thus, any move towards a mayoral election would require a comprehensive review of existing laws, including the Federal Capital Act and related legislation, he said.
“This must include careful consideration of how such a role would coexist with the jurisdiction of the federal territories minister and other federal executive authorities,” he added.
Yeoh yesterday clarified that the feasibility study being conducted on the proposed mayoral election was being undertaken by International Islamic University Malaysia, “not DAP”.
She also said the study had been underway since December 2025, when Dr Zaliha Mustafa was heading the ministry, and that it was at the initial stage.
