Abolish the Federal Territories Ministry, says Teresa Kok


Melati A. Jalil

DESPITE being the favourite candidate to be the next federal territories minister, Seputeh MP Teresa Kok believes that the ministry that governs the federal territories of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan should be abolished.

The five-term MP said the abolishment of the ministry could reduce bureaucracy and overlapping of functions between Kuala Lumpur City Hall and the ministry.

“My hope is that there won’t be a Federal Territories Ministry, because we have seen so many abuses by ministers and the ministry since Raja Nong Chik to Tengku Adnan,” she said, referring to former ministers Raja Nong Chik and Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor.

“There should only be one head, especially if we want to have local elections,” she said at her office in Seputeh today.

The Malaysian Insight reported earlier today that the DAP veteran was among the party’s candidates set to be inducted into Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad’s 26-member cabinet.

Kok, who is expected to lead the Federal Territories Ministry, said she wasn’t aware of the matter.

“I have not been informed at all, and the announcement has not come officially from the Prime Minister’s Office,” she said, adding that she would have no choice but to accept the decision if she were selected.

She said that the establishment of the Federal Territories Ministry had disrupted the operations and administration of DBKL.

“When you have a minister above the mayor, you have a mayor that follows all the minister’s instructions, violating the laws and planning of Kuala Lumpur.

“If the mayor doesn’t perform, we should remove him. But now, they are passing the buck to the ministry.

“And we saw how Raja Nong Chik and Tengku Adnan behaved. They made Kuala Lumpur a mess.”

Kok said that Kuala Lumpur MPs should be allowed to have a say in decision-making for their constituencies.

“The MPs should have their say, or be consulted in DBKL’s planning in their constituencies.

“If you want to have local government elections, then we shouldn’t have the ministry, but we have no choice if that’s the cabinet’s decision.

“Given the choice, I would like to play the role of wooing foreign investment in terms of tourism. Bring them to Malaysia to help our economy.”

Earlier, Teresa received a cheque from AM Life International Sdn Bhd, who contributed RM100,000 to Tabung Harapan Malaysia. – June 13, 2018.


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Comments


  • She is right. Absoultely Correct.!!!!! Stop all the irrelevant ministry and redundancy. Save the cost and only a Mayor to have efficiency with DBKL running an effective show. The previous system was all abuse and corruptions. Dig out both the Ku Nan and Nong Cik den I am sure there will be a plenty to contibute to Tabung Harapan.

    Posted 7 years ago by Lee Lee · Reply

  • She's eyeing the tourism ministry. She loves video shooting and acting. She loves the limelight and she also loves to court controversy. She enjoys it when her male colleagues come to her defence in Parliament. Hmmm......She should be in the entertainment industry.

    Posted 7 years ago by Conscience Moral · Reply

  • Take the job and immediately start local election in FT and then eliminate the Ministry..

    Posted 7 years ago by Bigjoe Lam · Reply

  • there

    Posted 7 years ago by Market Realist · Reply