By Dayangku Hidayatul
KUCHING, Oct 13: Communities seeking new Penghulu appointments in Sarawak must meet specific requirements, including having at least 20 Tuai Rumah for the Iban community, two Village Chiefs for other ethnic groups, or a population of at least 2,000 people, as the State reviews 1,059 applications for new Community Leader and Village Chief (KMKK) positions.
Deputy Minister in the Sarawak Premier’s Office (Law and Native Customs) Datuk Jefferson Jamit Unyat said the applications were received from all divisions in Sarawak, including several areas in Lundu District, and were undergoing further evaluation before being considered for approval.
“The applications are currently undergoing further evaluation and scrutiny before they can be considered for approval,” he said during the tabling of the Supply Bill 2027 at the Sarawak Legislative Assembly (DUS) today.
Responding to a question from Tanjong Datu assemblyman on the status of an application submitted in 2021 through the Lundu District Office for a new community leader position in the Malay Zone in Sematan, where the existing Penghulu oversees too many villages.
Jefferson said Sarawak currently has 7,710 official KMKK positions, comprising 671 Community Leaders and 7,039 Village Chiefs, with 641 positions in Kuching Division, including 129 in Lundu District.
He said the creation of new KMKK positions takes into account factors such as population growth, settlement patterns and the size of the area under a leader’s jurisdiction.
For Penghulu positions, the minimum requirements include at least 20 Tuai Rumah for the Iban community, at least two Village Chiefs for other ethnic groups, or an area with at least 500 households or a population of 2,000 people.
Meanwhile, a village, longhouse or settlement must have at least 20 households to qualify for a Village Chief position.
Jefferson added that the criteria for Temenggong and Pemanca positions also depend on ethnic representation and administrative boundaries, with shared appointments possible to oversee smaller ethnic groups or communities across divisions or districts. — DayakDaily
