Democratizing Local Government: What Malaysia Can Learn From Mexico and India

Abstract

The Pakatan Harapan 2018 election manifesto, had as one of its commitments, to strengthen the authority of local government and to make local councils more accountable. Many took this to mean that local government elections would resume, after an absence of more than 60 years. While Pakatan Harapan’s tenure as Malaysia’s ruling government was short-lived, their rise to power did put local government back in the spotlight, as well as raise the prospect of the resumption of local government elections in the country. There are a number of reasons why a more democratic and participatory approach to local government is to be hoped for in Malaysia. These include the view that it discourages public malfeasance and produces local officials that are more responsive to the needs of the citizens they serve. There are however challenges that come with introducing a more democratic form of local government, especially for countries which are attempting to transition from authoritarianism to a democracy at the national level and which have a diverse multi-ethnic population of differing socio-economic backgrounds. In order to better understand what these challenges are and how they can be overcome, I examine two case studies, that of Mexico and India, which have some similarities to Malaysia in terms of regime-type and demographics. I consider the evolving approach taken by these two countries towards local government, in terms of their structure and practices, with a view to gleaning potential lessons for Malaysia. This paper begins with a brief historical overview of the system of local government in Malaysia up to the present day. This is then followed by a discussion of Mexico and India’s own uneven experience with democratizing their local governments. What these case studies reveal is the manner in which countries with an authoritarian past often undergo a transitional period, in which even as structures of local governance become more democratic, local officials and citizens remain trapped in old authoritarian modes of behavior. And that unless interventionist steps are taken, democratizing local government structures alone, does not necessarily lead to greater citizen empowerment, especially for those from the more marginalized sections of society.