DAP to fill all New Village chief’s posts if PH wins Johor polls, says Nga

 The DAP deputy chairman pledges ‘rocket-speed’ development if Pakatan Harapan administers the state.

New Villages were established under the Briggs Plan during the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960) to relocate rural Chinese communities and isolate communist insurgents from their support networks. (Bernama pic)

PETALING JAYA:

DAP deputy chairman Nga Kor Ming says all 123 New Village chiefs in Johor will be replaced with DAP-appointed village heads if Pakatan Harapan wins the Johor state election on July 11.

Nga, who is also the housing and local government minister, said this would enable local development to proceed at “rocket speed” and accelerate the implementation of public infrastructure projects, China Press reported.

At an event in Segamat last night, he said his ministry has allocated RM65.29 million to New Villages in Johor and has completed 15,800 development projects nationwide, including about 400 in Johor.

He said Johor could have completed about 800 projects, but progress was delayed because all 123 New Village chiefs in the state were appointed by MCA, with some projects allegedly being obstructed or boycotted.

Citing Perak as an example, Nga said all New Village chiefs there are appointed by DAP, enabling the state to complete about 1,000 development projects annually.

He expressed hope that closer coordination between the federal and state governments would significantly speed up the upgrading of parks, markets, and hawker centres, as well as basic infrastructure such as roads, streetlights, and drainage systems across Johor.

New Villages were established under the Briggs Plan during the Malayan Emergency (1948-1960) to relocate rural Chinese communities and isolate communist insurgents from their support networks.

Over the decades, many have developed into fully established residential towns and villages.

There are 624 New Villages across the country. - FMT