THE government saves RM2.3 mil per year by abolishing the Federal Territories (FT) Ministry and placing it under the Prime Minister’s Department, said Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.
The Law and Institutional Reform Minister said almost all the savings are due to the reduction in the payment of emoluments.
“Abolishing the Federal Territories Ministry followed by the formation of the Federal Territories Department saw the federal government saving as much as RM2,358,912.61 a year from reducing its commitment to paying emoluments,” she said
Azalina said this in a written Parliamentary reply on Wednesday (Oct 25) in response to a question by Seputeh MP Teresa Kok who asked about the total expenditures saved through the abolishment of the Federal Territories Ministry.
Kok also enquired about the challenges faced by the government after the said Ministry was abolished.
To this, the Pengerang MP clarified that the government did not face any operational challenges because the functions and responsibilities of overseeing the development of the Federal Territories fell under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister.
The changes came into effect through an order gazetted on Jan 20, 2023.
“Managing the Federal Territories through aspects such as planning, monitoring and policy making, as well as programmes and activities are continued under the Federal Territories Department that is as an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department,” Azalina added.
The FT ministry, which was first established in 1978, has jurisdiction over matters related to Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya and Labuan. It was absorbed into the Prime Minister’s Department following the 15th general election (GE15).
Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi expressed hopes that the Federal Territories Ministry will be brought back in the event of a Cabinet reshuffle.
The former Federal Territories Ministry has had eight different ministers since it was revived in 2004.
Its last minister was Arau MP Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim, who held the portfolio from August 2021 until GE15.
In December 2022, recall that Kepong MP Lim Lip Eng said it was the “right move” not to have a Federal Territories Ministry as its functions were redundant.
Speaking to FMT, Lim had also noted how the roles of the federal territories minister and the mayor overlap.
“So now that we don’t have a federal territories ministry, we will speak with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim about allowing the mayor to be accountable to Kuala Lumpur’s MPs,” he said.
He said this would be in contrast with previous arrangements, whereby the mayor would be accountable to the federal territories minister.
In the same report, Save Kuala Lumpur Coalition (SKL) chairman M. Ali also concurred that the ministry had redundant functions, adding that it should be “put on hold” to save costs and avoid duplication of functions.
“[The Kuala Lumpur] City Hall (DBKL) and the federal territories land and mines office must be accountable to the people of Kuala Lumpur,” he was quoted as saying.
“DBKL should be made accountable to Parliament until local government elections are implemented, and election of the mayor and councillors is in place.” – Oct 25, 2023
Main pic credit: Bernama
