SRI AMAN, April 8: District councils nationwide will benefit from RM2.1 million in allocations from the Ministry of Housing and Local Government (KPKT) annually.
The minister’s political secretary Nor Hizwan Ahmad said the allocation would be channeled directly to the relevant authorities to avoid leakages.
“The district council receives the highest allocation due to its status compared to ‘dewan bandaraya’ (city hall) and the ‘majlis perbandaran’ (municipal council),” he said in a statement today after attending a function at Rh Alia Kandis near Lachau here earlier today.
Nor Hizwan said the allocation of RM2.1 million was not limited to the amount being channeled as if the district councils have additional requirements, they could apply to the department or local government division under KPKT.
Addtionally, district councils could also be reimbursed for 50 per cent of electricity bills every year, he said.
“Under the previous Barisan Nasional (BN) federal government, allocations to local authorities for the opposition states were channeled through their political representatives or division chiefs to implement the project.
“But under the new Pakatan Harapan (PH) federal government, the allocation will be channeled directly to the relevant local authorities,” he said.
“Therefore, the ministry will continue to channel the allocation to local authorities in the state.
“I also explained, this budget applies to matters under the supervision of district councils and its assets only. The current government is not following any state government’s administration including opposition states in the spirit of federalism, because we do not want the people to be the victims of political conflict between the parties,” said Nor Hizwan.
Also present were Sri Aman Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) coordinator Norina Umoi Utot and PKR Sri Aman branch chairman Yen Jebeni. — DayakDaily
