Selangor Umno returns council quota, wants village committee posts instead

 

Selangor Umno today decided to return the 20 state local council posts offered by the state Pakatan Harapan administration.

The decision, Selangor Umno chief Megat Zulkarnain Omardin said, was proof that the party was not greedy as alleged by certain quarters.

However, Zulkarnain said in return, Selangor Umno wants 373 posts at the Village Development and Security Committee throughout the state.

“We have decided on Friday to return the local council post quota to Harapan out of respect for their influence in urban areas.

“What we are looking at is for Harapan to take care of the urban areas while Umno handles villages.

“And we will present our decision to Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi tomorrow in a closed-door meeting in Sepang,” Sinar Harian reported him as saying.

Offer not appreciated

On Jan 16, Malaysiakini reported that the Selangor state government was unable to complete the appointment of councillors involving 12 local authorities for the 2024-2025 session.

According to an internal state government source, Umno’s refusal to accept Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari’s offer has complicated the appointment of 272 new council members.

Selangor Menteri Besar Amirudin Shari

“All Harapan parties submitted names for the posts of councillors at the end of December last year.

“However, 15 days into January, there are still no signs of councillors in Selangor being appointed.

“The Selangor menteri besar is unable to decide because of Umno’s stubbornness in asking for more than the 20 seats offered. Umno refuses to compromise on seats,” the source claimed.

‘Only about 7pct’

Meanwhile, Zulkarnain reminded the public that the 20 local council posts offered were out of the 288 seats available across Selangor.

“Percentage-wise, it’s only about seven percent of the total number of seats.

“If you look at Malacca, Harapan was offered 17 out of 78 councillor seats available - which is about 20 percent.

“However, Harapan declined (offer in Malacca) and they have yet to appoint councillors,” he claimed.

Zulkarnain added that Umno was not demanding but merely wanted to negotiate in the spirit of friendship. - Mkini