Michael Manyin
SERIAN: The collapse of the Pakatan Harapan (PH) government means the plan to set up the Federal Village Committee Management Council (MPKKP) in Sarawak is now ‘dead and buried’, says Dato Sri Michael Manyin.
The Education, Science and Technological Research Minister said although there has been no announcement on the matter yet from the new federal government, MPKKP is unlikely to be implemented especially as Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) is now part of the federal administration.
“There is no more MPKKP, as it is now ‘terkubur’ (dead and buried) after the PH government collapsed. So there will be no more disruptive element to divide Sarawakians particularly those from the Dayak community.
“To us, the MPKKP was nothing more than an attempt to divide the people,” he said when officiating at the Serian Division Bidayuh Village Chiefs and Community Leaders Association’s triennial general meeting, here on Tuesday.
It had previously been reported that the PH government – prior to its collapse on Feb 24 – had planned to launch the first batch of MPKKPs in Sarawak by the end of this month.
Manyin said with MPKKP now out of the picture, all Village Security and Development Committees (JKKKs) in the state must now focus on serving the people.
He pointed out that effective this year, the Sarawak government has allocated funds to pay a RM300 monthly allowance to JKKK secretaries, while committee members will receive an allowance of RM50 per meeting.
This, he added, is to ensure JKKKs can play an effective role in the government’s rural transformation agenda.
On a related matter, the Tebedu assemblyman called on JKKKs in Bidayuh villages to rope in educated and qualified individuals hailing from the same village when drafting project proposals, even if that individual resides elsewhere due to work or other reasons.
He said input from such individuals, who have experience and technical know-how in the public or private sector, is vital in order to come up with an effective proposal especially when it comes to cost estimation of projects proposed for a village.
He also called on Bidayuh village chiefs and community leaders to assist in getting more landowners involved in the land documentation initiative by Dayak Bidayuh National Association (DBNA).
Manyin explained this initiative by DBNA – carried out since 2007 – helps the community get closer to getting titles for their native customary rights land, adding that many Bidayuhs have already received land titles with many more expected to get theirs soon.