Zahid denies rift following Umno demand for village chairman posts

 

Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he would discuss the appointment of village development and security committee chairmen with Selangor menteri besar Amirudin Shari. (Bernama pic)

KAJANG: Umno president Ahmad Zahid Hamidi has denied any schism between its Selangor chapter and the state Pakatan Harapan leadership following the party’s demand to chair all 373 village development and security committees (JPKK) in the state.

Umno had demanded the posts after rejecting local council seats offered by the Selangor government.

Zahid, who is also the rural and regional development minister, said the appointment of JPKK heads fell under his ministry’s purview and did not involve the state government.

“The offer is from the ministry, not the state government,” he told reporters.

Selangor Umno chairman Megat Zulkarnain Omardin had previously said that the party wanted all 373 JPKK chairman’s posts so they could oversee the villages while PH could keep the local council posts to take care of urban areas.

Selangor PKR vice-chairman Juwairiya Zulkifli urged Barisan Nasional (BN), which is Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) ally, to reconsider the demand which she labelled “inappropriate”.

Her colleague, Selangor PKR secretary Khairuddin Othman, meanwhile, said that menteri besar Amirudin Shari would have the final say.

Today, Zahid said he would discuss the matter with Amirudin and that the problem would be resolved soon.

On a separate matter, Zahid said the decision by a Bersatu MP to back Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim would further strengthen the unity government.

“The government now has the support of 153 MPs. The more MPs supporting the government, the stronger the administration will be,” he said, adding that it would arrest any attempt to bring down the government.

Earlier today, Tanjong Karang MP Dr Zulkafperi Hanapi pledged his support for Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim, becoming the sixth MP from Bersatu to do so.

In a statement, Zulkafperi said he was backing Anwar for the sake of his constituents.

The other Bersatu MPs who had announced their support for Anwar are Syed Abu Hussin Hafiz Syed Abdul Fasal (Bukit Gantang), Iskandar Dzulkarnain Abdul Khalid (Kuala Kangsar), Suhaili Abdul Rahman (Labuan), Azizi Abu Naim (Gua Musang) and Zahari Kechik (Jeli). - FMT