Sanjan Daik
KUCHING: A DAP leader has denied that Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties were jostling for posts in the soon-to-be formed Village Community Development Council (MPKK) after a notice surfaced in which DAP instructed branch leaders to nominate the party’s members for all posts in the committee.
Sanjan Daik, a political secretary to Deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister Chong Chieng Jen, said the list was viralled and prompted netizens to assume there was no power sharing in PH Sarawak.
Confirming that he had received the notice from the party, Sanjan said it was only a guideline and as far as he was concerned the posts in the committees in Mambong would be shared with PKR.
The quota system for power sharing varies depending on the state seat but it will be adhered to, he told The Borneo Post yesterday.
Sanjan, a lawyer, believes there would be no jostling for posts in the MPKK because members would be appointed by the Rural Development Ministry.
“As far as DAP Mambong is concerned they will share power with PKR Mambong by splitting the numbers in each MPPK, 50 to 50 per cent. As there are 13 posts to be filled up in each MPKK, DAP Mambong will submit six to seven names for each of the almost 70 villages in the area,” he said.
“I do not foresee any jostling for posts as the MPPK members will be appointed by the Rural Development Ministry. All we (DAP Mambong) need to do is identify the personalities to fill up the posts – six to seven of them – in each MPKK. Later on we compare notes with our counterpart, the PKR Mambong. We will go for 50-50 quota,” he added.
Sanjan, who is now bandied about to stand as DAP candidate in Mambong in the next state election, expressed confidence that the finalised list for PH Mambong will be drawn by Oct 11 before they pass it to PH Sarawak for its round of negotiation from Oct 11 to 17.
“I hope to see the PH Sarawak drawing the final list of state MPKK (for all villages in Sarawak) by Oct 17 and that the Rural Development Ministry to approve it in November,” he said, while pointing out that he is in the midst of instructing their party machinery officers to get all villages to comply with the ministry’s requirements in the setting up of respective MPKKs.
“I can assure you that the MPKK list will be manned with personalities with diverse backgrounds. If we follow the criteria given by the ministry even government servants – with permission of their respective departments – can be in the council. Even an SRP holder (Form Three graduate) – one with the minimum level of education background can also hold post in the MPKK,” he said.
He then pointed out that there is nothing to stop any of the existing JKKK members to be inside the MPKK.
Sanjan said he could not understand the fuss of people commenting that the MPKK is set to divide the people when its main function is just administrative to facilitate federal government official functions in the villages.
“The MPKK is to supplement and complement the existing JKKK (village security and development committee). This is because the JKKK deals with state functions, MPKK federal government functions. Let me give you one example, when we mentioned the Health Ministry’s MySalam Health Care programme to villagers, they said they have no idea of it. This is because it was not passed down to them. Therefore, the need to establish the MPKK,” said Sanjan.
He insisted that the MPKK in each village will impart useful information and also coordinate federal government-linked programmes.
“We want useful information that would benefit the people at large to reach them. We also could use the MPKK to announce incoming government projects,” he added.