KUALA LUMPUR, April 22 — Selangor Umno chief Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin said that the party aims to fill all 373 Madani village community chairman positions to restore Umno’s strength in the state.

In an interview with Utusan Malaysia, he said that the platform would allow members at the grassroots level to continue serve the community.

“With this position, Umno leaders at the grassroots level can still provide services to the people such as children enrolment in schools, aid applications, pothole problems, leaky roofs and other issues,” he was quoted as saying.

Megat also said that the Madani village community chairman post is not a waste of public funds despite there being posts which carry similar roles such as the local councillors and village chiefs.

“This is not a new allocation or position. This position already has an allowance of RM500 while the secretary receives RM250 instead of an additional budget to cover this appointment.

“Don’t worry, Selangor Umno will not do something that will eventually require additional funds or usage of public funds,” he was quoted as saying.

Megat also dismissed accusations that Umno was being greedy.

“Umno is not greedy. We didn’t ask for more, instead we returned all 20 local councillors’ post out of 279 to be filled by our friends in Pakatan Harapan (PH).

“I told the Menteri Besar to let PH manage at the local council level while we manage at the village level as it can’t be denied that the party has strong links in rural areas and has an organised structure at that level,” he was quoted as saying.

However, Megat also stressed that this does not mean that Umno has lost its grip in urban areas.

“In Gombak there are 17 villages, Shah Alam also has several villages and Ampang has traditional villages. We can still play a role.

“This means that the presence of Umno leaders is still felt rather than being absent,” he was quoted as saying.

https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2024/04/22/umno-targets-all-madani-village-community-chairmen-to-strengthen-its-grip-in-selangor/130137