Get rid of Ku Nan's redundant FT Ministry & SAVE RM1 BIL - Chin Tong tells Najib

KUALA LUMPUR - Putrajaya could save over RM1 billion annually by abolishing the Federal Territories Ministry whose functions overlap with local authorities it oversees, DAP MP Liew Chin Tong said today.

Among reforms he suggested to increase accountability in the administration of Kuala Lumpur, Liew said the Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) made the ministry’s role redundant, adding that Putrajaya could implement an “immediate” change by scrapping the ministry.

“One of these is abolishing the Federal Territories Ministry in line with austerity policies that we are supposed to take,” the DAP national political education director said in a forum here.

According to Liew, the administrative costs of the ministry — including to pay for the office of the minister, deputy minister and secretary-general — came up to RM125 million and RM83 million in 2014 and 2015 respectively, while the ministry’s entire budget is RM1.13 billion.

The Kluang MP said there could be clashes of opinions and personalities between the minister, the ministry’s secretary-general and the Kuala Lumpur mayor and the DBKL director-general, thereby increasing bureaucracy.

The ministry currently oversees the three federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan.

In continuing his arguments to do away with the ministry, Liew suggested that a local council be set up in Putrajaya instead of having it run by a corporation.

He also said Labuan — an island off the shores of Sabah — should be returned to the Sabah government’s administration, saying that this would also help appease natives unhappy with Putrajaya now.

When highlighting the weaknesses of the current administration of Kuala Lumpur, Liew pointed out that the federal capital’s annual budget hovered around the RM2 billion figure from 2006 to 2015 and was usually the highest when compared to states in peninsular Malaysia.

But DBKL does not provide an itemised budget and the city hall’s spending is not publicly disclosed, he said, adding that the budget is only presented in Parliament without debates.

“Kuala Lumpur while it usually has the largest state budget in Peninsular, but it doesn’t present an itemised budget for scrutiny for all,” he said.

Liew also said that the Kuala Lumpur mayor under the current system may defy the advice of the 12-member advisory board with the exception of the minister, adding that the minister may issue a directive from time to time that the mayor must obey.

DAP MP Liew Chin Tong

This differs from states where budgets have to be approved by councils, he said, noting that Kuala Lumpur has no comparable entity.

Besides the immediate reforms of abolishing the ministry and subjecting the Kuala Lumpur budget to Parliamentary scrutiny, Liew said the longer-term reforms should see the city being turned into a state government or a cross between local councils and state governments.

Ishak Surin, who was also present at the forum as a speaker, said his newly formed group BERTINDAK is aiming to have a “mock elections” to elect the Kuala Lumpur mayor in 2016.

DAP’s Tan Kok Wai, who delivered his opening remarks, suggested that Kuala Lumpur be turned into the 14th state of Malaysia, with Putrajaya replacing the city as the federal capital.

Pointing out that the land for Kuala Lumpur belongs to the federal government after it paid off the Selangor government decades ago, Tan said it would be “physically OK” to convert the federal territory into a state, adding that it would be legally possible to do so through amendments of the Federal Constitution’s Article 1 and Article 154.

The forum titled “Beyond Local Government: Making Kuala Lumpur a State Government” today was organised by think-tank Research for Social Advancement, with academic Dr Wong Chin Huat also present as a speaker. - Malay Mail