Shafie (third left) handing over a mock cheque for the allocation to Adenan, while other state dignitaries look on. — Photo by Muhd Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: The federal government, through the Ministry of Rural and Regional Development, has allocated RM121 million as allowance of village security and development committee (JKKK) members.
Its minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal said the allocation includes monthly allowance of RM800 for JKKK chairman, RM200 for the secretary and RM50 for each committee member.
He also pointed out the vital roles played by community leaders.
“The federal government has decided to appoint every JKKK member in the country to help with voter registration.
“This will ensure they can help in registering eligible voters in their villages and to identify that there are no illegal immigrants staying in their area.
“In the last general election in 2013, the opposition claimed there were thousands of Bangladeshis registered as voters. That was of course false, but it is important for community leaders to know their people,” he said when handing over the allocation to the state government at the Grassroots Leadership Seminar held in the State Legislative Assembly building yesterday.
Shafie reminded community leaders that they should listen to the voices of the people especially at the village level.
“Besides listening to them, they need to formulate agenda and play a more forward role by knowing what is going on around them. They also need to be tactful and fearless in representing the voice of their people.
“The JKKK structure has existed a long time and it has proven to be beneficial to the people at the grassroots level. That is why it is important not only to focus on physical development of rural areas but also development of human capital through seminars like this,” he said.
On a related note, Shafie added that for this year the ministry was allocating RM50 million to build 2,800 houses in the state under the Program Bantuan Rumah (PBR).
Other allocations, he further said, included development projects such as rural roads (RM400 million) and water supply (RM171 million).
Meanwhile, State Secretary Tan Sri Datuk Amar Mohd Morshidi Abdul Ghani said the seminar was the first in a series.
“We will be organising 10 other seminars in different parts of the state.
“This seminar will benefit community leaders in helping them improve their roles as grassroots leaders.
“There are five topics covered namely Kampung Profiling, Grassroots Leadership, Sarawak State Development, Community Leaders’ Role in Immigration and Registration of Births and Deaths.
“We hope the participants will be able to disseminate the right information to the people after this seminar,” he said.
A total of 685 community leaders from Kuching, Bau and Lundu attended the seminar.
Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, Local Government and Community Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Housing Minister Datuk Amar Abang Johari Tun Openg and Industrial Development Minister Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan were present.