KAPIT: Outsiders and political parties have been asked to steer clear of appointments for Malay community leaders here.
Kampung Baru village security and development committee (JKKK) chairman Zulaini Junaidi said the decision should be left up to the villagers themselves.
“Let the villagers choose their leaders to be the Ketua Kampung, Penghulu and Pemanca through popular votes and not lobbying through political influences.
“We don’t care about the rampant political interference in the appointment of community leaders for other communities but as far as the Malay and Muslim community is concerned, let us decide by ourselves so that the most suitable and the best shall serve our community. Anybody who lobbies for himself and becomes appointed through political influence should be rejected,” he told the media.
Zulaini said all Kampung Baru and Kampung Muhibbah Bletih residents are invited to attend a meeting tomorrow (Dec 21) starting 3pm at the Kampung Baru community hall.
The meeting is to nominate eligible candidates to fill the posts of the headman for Kampung Muhibbah Bletih, as well as Penghulu and Pemanca for the community.
For posts with more than one nomination, a vote would be taken and the winning name would be submitted to the Kapit District office to be forwarded to the State Secretary’s office for approval.
“This is held because the people themselves want to have their own chosen leader and not someone appointed by an interested political party or outside influence. What we want is our leader must be a local who is really committed to serve the community with full dedication and commitment to fulfill the responsibility.
“We believe in a democratic manner to select the best to serve us. Our chosen candidate must have good public relations, be able to interact with the locals and others as well as the government agencies, well-mannered and of good character as well as academic qualifications to be able to communicate through correspondence,” he added.