KOTA KINABALU, Certain leaders, especially within the Gabungan Rakyat Sabah (GRS) government, are deliberately playing up the issue of the establishment of the Jawatankuasa Kemajuan Desa Madani (JKDM) in Sabah out of fear of their own shadows, claimed Dr Gaim James Lunkapis, the vice-president of the Parti Kesejahteraan Demokratik Malaysia (KDM).
He said this is because they are afraid of the effectiveness of the budget allocated to villages in the state.
“The GRS government ought to have reacted favorably to the establishment of this committee, which was launched in Sabah earlier than in other states.
“This is in line with the spirit of the Madani government, which aims to eradicate poverty in Malaysia, with a focus on the rural areas of Sabah,” he said in a statement today.
Gaim mentioned that the state government should understand the concept of establishing the JKDM, which is believed to reduce bureaucracy, allowing development funds to be channeled more quickly to villages, especially in Sabah.
According to Gaim, from a legal perspective, JKDM does not violate the existing law and is not in conflict with the Rural Administration Ordinance Cap 132, which specifies bodies under the administration of different district officers compared to JKDM, which is administered under the Ministry of Rural Development and Regional Development (KKDW), namely state and federal bodies.
He said that in terms of jurisdiction, the establishment of JKDM does not infringe on the state powers listed in the Federal Constitution State List.
Gaim said that the functions of the Village Security and Development Committee (JKKK) and JKDM are different.
He said that JKDM plays a role in assisting the economic sector, entrepreneurs, and training rural residents, while JKKK, established under an ordinance, functions to manage and administer village administration and security.
“There is clearly no overlap of powers between two bodies with different functions and objectives,” he said.
Previously, Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Seri Dr Jeffrey Kitingan stated that the State government took a stand to reject the implementation of JKDM by KKDW in Sabah.