By Aida Aziz
IPOH: The issue regarding the delay in the appointment of Malay village heads in the state will be resolved by the end of July, said Perak Rural Development, Plantation, Agriculture and Food Industry Committee Chairman, Datuk Mohd Zolkafly Harun.
He explained that the appointments in the 828 traditional Malay villages need to be done with detail in various aspects to ensure the well-being and welfare of the residents.
“The appointment of the head of this Malay village will be finalised at the end of July, if there is cooperation and understanding between the parties in this unity government, everything will go smoothly.
“The state government is concerned about this problem and the appointment will be made in phases,” he said.
He said this to reporters at a special press conference regarding the issue at the Perak Ridzuan Building, today
Meanwhile, when commenting on the reason for the delay in the appointments, Mohd Zolkafly said that one of the main reasons was the candidate selection criteria and differences compared to the previous government.
“We take the experience when Barisan Nasional (BN) together with The National Alliance (Perikatan Nasional or PN), namely Bersatu and PAS, became the government. At that time one village was represented by three parties.
“But now we take that experience and decide to appoint only one village head for one village.
“It is to facilitate village administration, unlike in the past where chiefs (penghulu) had to look after a whole township (mukim) with up to 18 villages,” he added.
Previously the media reported that the new appointment of 828 Malay village heads in the 59 State Legislative Assembly (DUN) of Perak will be completed in stages.
Perak Menteri Besar, Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad said that the first phase of the appointment involving Malay villages in the 33 DUNs under the state government was expected to be completed before May 22.
According to him, the appointment of village heads in 158 new Chinese villages and seven Indian villages has been completed.
