The Rural Administration Ordinance of Sabah has been amended, there should be only one village management body: Ewon

18 May 2024

By AVV

PENAMPANG: Sabah has the Rural Administration Ordinance which has been amended for village administration and there should only be one village management body in the state , the Minister of Entrepreneur Development and Cooperatives Datuk Ewon Benedick.

The Rural Administration Ordinance has been approved in the Sabah State Legislative Assembly where only one village administration, namely the JKKKP is recognized and appointed by the state government, he said.

"If it is a national policy, then it should be implemented nationwide, but in Sarawak and some other states in the Peninsula, it is not implemented."

"Therefore, I have expressed my firm views, disagreeing with the establishment of the JKKKP when it was raised in the cabinet. I believe the decision at that time the proposal should have been discussed with the state government. So I don't know why it is still being pursued.

"I will seek further clarification from the relevant ministry and I also want clarification from the state government whether it was consulted on this establishment," he said.

He said this to reporters after officiating the District-level Kaamatan Festival Celebration in Penampang, at Padang B, Penampang Sports Complex, here, today.

Ewon, who is also the President of the United Progressive Kinabalu Organisation (UPKO), believes that the establishment of JKKKP is more of a political party initiative and not through elected representatives.

"For example, in Moyog, I was never involved in discussions. The same goes for Kadamaian, I will not submit a list for the Kadamaian State Assembly constituency because this is my stance that there should not be a second JKKK administration in a village in Sabah."

"As a representative of the people from Sabah, and despite having a federal ministry, I still firmly believe that there should not be a JKKKP in Sabah," he said.

Ewon emphasised that he disagrees with the establishment of JKKKP in Sabah.

"My views and stance have been clearly recorded in cabinet discussions, and my stance has not changed since I became the Minister of Rural Development of Sabah.

"At that time, there was also an effort to establish the Federal MPKK, I expressed my objections and my stance remains unchanged until today," he said.

"For me and UPKO, there should be one village administration institution according to the ordinance that was approved in the State Legislative Assembly, namely the Rural Administration Ordinance of Sabah which was approved and amended in the last January session," he said.