Tourism, Arts and Culture Minister Datuk Abdul Karim Rahman Hamzah has slammed Putrajaya’s decision to stop paying allowances to Village Development and Security Committees (JKKKs).
“I think it is wrong for the federal government to stop paying the allowances,” he told reporters in a press conference at the State Legislative Assembly (DUN) building here yesterday.
“The management of JKKKs has always been shared by the federal and state governments, so if Baru (State PKR chairman Baru Bian) says that the federal government would cease paying its part of the share, it is unbecoming and hence breaking the convention.”
He explained that when Malaysia was formed, there were matters which were placed under the State List, Federal List and the Concurrent List.
“In Federal List, it is security, health, education and taxation and for the State List it is river and land matters. For Sabah and Sarawak, they have their own safeguards,” he explained.
“Not all matters are in the Malaysia Agreement 1963 or the Federal Constitution, this is where the matters fall under the convention.
“The responsibility falls under the convention and from time immemorial, we know that the management of villages, kampung and longhouses, even though under the state, the federal government have come in and share its maintenance.
“All these years, the federal government has provided half the cost for maintenance, it runs into millions, we have over 6,000 JKKKs, that is the reason why the state allowed the federal government to take a big chunk of the taxation.”
Abdul Karim pointed out that the state opposition figures such as Baru and state Pakatan Harapan chairman Chong Chieng Jen should be fighting for the allowances.
“They should not just concur with the federal government when it said that the matters should be under the state purview.
“If that is the case, we might as well not give them the 95 percent of the oil and gas royalty anymore. Everything from the state should come under the state and we don’t have to pay to the federal government.”
He chided Baru who is Works Minister for saying that Putrajaya was cash-strapped, hence the lack of funding to Sarawak.
