The Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) will abide by the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government's decision if it chooses not to revive local council elections.

However, KPKT minister Zuraida Kamaduddin said there was a need for the elections to be revived as they had their own importance and needs in the future.

She said the ministry welcomed views on the matter from various parties following criticisms from PN Members of Parliament (MPs) before this.

"I cannot stop them from saying anything. However, we have a responsibility to make them understand what are the objectives behind the implementation of the local council elections," she told reporters after attending the Hulu Langat District Merdeka@Komuniti exploration programme today.

Previously, she had said that her ministry was targeting tabling the local council election proposal to the Dewan Rakyat sitting by mid-2021.

According to Zuraida, her ministry has, since 2018, been working on preparing the Cabinet paper and forming two committees with regard to the elections, which would cost an estimated RM2 million per local council and RM308 million in total for all 154 local councils.

On the Merdeka@Komuniti programme, the Ampang MP said it was held at seven locations, including in Ukay Perdana, Bukit Antarabangsa, Kampung Melayu Ampang and Taman Rasmi Jaya, to further fuel the spirit of patriotism among the community in conjunction with the National Day celebrations.

The programme, under the Communications and Multimedia Ministry and through the Information Department (Japen), is also a people-engagement programme to promote the government's policies, initiatives and achievements.

-- BERNAMA