SIBU: Deputy Minister for Education, Innovation and Talent Development Datuk Dr Annuar Rapaee wants more community leaders appointed in his Nangka constituency.
He said he will work hard to ensure that at least 14 community leaders and village chiefs (KMKK) are appointed, adding that there were requests for an additional 19 KMKK to address the shortage of such leaders in the area.
However, until now, the applications are yet to be given approval by the relevant authorities.
“At the moment, we actually don’t have enough KMKK. Out of the 20 Village Security and Development Committees (JKKKs), only six have village chiefs (KK).
“This means that the other 14 JKKKs are purely voluntary, and these individuals do not receive any allowance or benefits,” he said during the appreciation ceremony for the JKKKs under Nangka constituency at Lakis Hall here yesterday (Nov 26).
Dr Annuar said every JKKK must be led by a KK, and if the JKKK is not led by one, it will not receive any benefits.
“To address this issue, I have written a letter to the district office, and it has informed that it has been approved, but there is no letter stating that it has been officially approved.
“As long as the approval letter is not issued, they will not receive any allocation or allowance from the government.
“I do not have the authority to approve these positions; they are approved at the state level, and the State Secretary is the one who approves them,” he said.
Meanwhile, on the programme, Dr Annuar expressed his gratitude to the KMKK and JKKK for their contributions to the society.
He advised the JKKKs to organise more programmes or activities with the local community so that the public can feel the presence of the JKKKs in their area.
“Starting next year, I urged all the JKKK in Nangka constituency to submit reports on the proposed activities or programmes to my service centre every month so that we can monitor the effectiveness of these programmes,” he said.
