LOCAL GOVERNMENT (AMENDMENT) BILL

Order for Second Reading read.

10.27 a.m.

The Minister for Local Government, Lands and Housing (Dato Abdul Hamid Bin Haji Jumat): Mr Speaker, Sir, this is a very simple Bill and, as it says in the Explanatory Statement, a member of a local authority is, by the amendment, disqualified from continuing to be a member of the local authority if he stands as a candidate for election to the Legislative Assembly.

On the one hand, local authority Councillors cannot continue to be members of that local authority once they are elected to the Legislative Assembly, which is the law at present, and local authority Councillors who seek election to the Legislative Assembly and are nominated are also disallowed from continuing to be members of that local authority. In effect, therefore, Sir, local authority Councillors must make up their minds one way or another on nomination day for the Legislative Assembly, whether they wish to continue as members of the local authority or to seek election to the Legislative Assembly. They cannot keep their feet in the local authority in reserve in case they are unsuccessful in the elections to the Legislative Assembly. However, Sir, there is nothing to prevent an unsuccessful candidate from standing for re-election to the local authority at the time of a by-election to that local authority.

Sir, I beg to move.

Question put, and agreed to.

Bill accordingly read a Second time and committed to a Committee of the whole Assembly.

Assembly immediately resolved itself into a Committee on the Bill. -[Dato Abdul Hamid]

Bill considered in Committee; reported without amendment; read the Third time and passed.