Nikko Fabian
KOTA KINABALU : The Sabah government should assert its constitutional powers over village administration and rural development in the state and resist the Federal Government’s overreaching actions, according to Liberal Democratic Party (LDP).
LDP is strongly voicing out its opposition to the unilateral decision made by the federal Ministry of Rural and Regional Development to establish the Madani Village Community Development Committees (JKDM) in Sabah.
Its party vice-president David Ong in a statement emphasized that this move disregards Sabah’s autonomy over village administration matters and undermines the state’s constitutional rights to self-governance in local affairs.
David stressed that Sabah has its own Rural Administration Ordinance, duly amended and approved by the State Legislative Assembly, which recognizes only one official village management body – the Village Development and Security Committee (JKKK).
“The introduction of parallel village committees through the JKDM initiative is viewed as politically motivated and is predicted to lead to confusion, overlapping jurisdictions, and disrupt the existing well-functioning JKKK system in Sabah’s villages,” he stressed.
David also expressed strong disapproval of the federal government’s imposition of structures in Sabah without consultation or consent from the Sabah government, stressing the need for adherence to Sabah’s autonomy as guaranteed under the Malaysia Agreement 1963.
Hence, he said LDP demands the immediate abandonment of the JKDM plan and insists that any rural development initiatives should be implemented through the state government’s mechanisms, respecting the state’s authority in such matters.
He suggested that any political parties feeling marginalized within the existing JKKK village committees should participate in the next JKKK elections rather than creating new separate bodies, which could exacerbate issues and divide communities.
Towards this end, the vice-president reiterated that any federal rural development initiatives in Sabah must adhere to the state government’s processes and village governance structures.
David warned that attempting to push through the JKDM plan without proper consultation and consent will be met with strong opposition from the people of Sabah.
