NIZAR : JKKKP CAN'T SUE STATE

THE heads of Federal Village Development and Security Committees (JKKKP) in Perak cannot take the state government to court as the committees are not recognised entities.

Commenting on a statement by Federal Development Officer Datuk Zainal Abidin Omar that JKKKP heads in Perak should take the state government to court over the use of community halls built on state land, Perak Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin said:
“The law only recognises the Village Deve-lopment and Security Committee (JKKK) so the JKKKP has no locus standi.”

Speaking to reporters after chairing the state executive council meeting in Ipoh on Friday, Nizar said JKKK was a registered entity approved by the state assembly.

On Zainal Abidin’s opinion that the halls belonged to the Federal Government because they were built using federal funds, the Mentri Besar said the state, as landowner, owned whatever structure that was built on it and this was stipulated under the National Land Code.

Nizar stressed that if Barisan Nasional representatives wanted to use the halls, they just needed to put in an application.

“We will not stop them from using the facilities,” he said.

It was earlier reported that the use of community halls in the state became a bone of contention between JKKKP and state-appointed village heads following the takeover of the state by Pakatan Rakyat.

On another matter, Nizar said the state had halted all hillslope projects until there were reports from the Department of Environment, Public Works Department and Land and Mines Department certifying the projects as safe.

“The state will not compensate the deve- lopers as this is an instruction from the Federal Government,” he said, adding that the affected projects were in Taiping and Kampar. The projects, noted Nizar, were approved by the previous Barisan Nasional administration and they involved six developers.

The Mentri Besar, who is also Perak Football Association (PFA) president, said the state was seeking funding to pay off its RM700,000 debts to its former coach Steve Darby and several other players.

The amount owed was for the payment of their salaries and emoluments.