Report: Umno lobbying for revival of FT Ministry, but opposed by KL MPs
KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 28 — Umno has reportedly been lobbying for the Ministry of Federal Territories to be revived, but has faced opposition from Kuala Lumpur MPs — who are all but one from Pakatan Harapan (PH).
Citing anonymous sources, The Star reported that Umno wishes for one of its own to be appointed minister there, its sole KL MP Datuk Seri Johari Abdul Ghani.
“They are pushing for one of their own to assume the position of federal territories minister,” one the sources told the paper.
A senior DAP lawmaker who requested anonymity confirmed that there is talk to revive the ministry, and the party is against the idea.
“They are lobbying for another Cabinet post for Umno and the federal territories minister post as well,” the senior lawmaker was quoted saying, referring to Umno.
“There may be a [Cabinet] reshuffle coming soon and they are trying their luck.”
According to the senior lawmaker, the request was made about two weeks before the recently concluded state elections.
Another senior KL MP who also spoke anonymously, said that Johari has been a candidate suggested for the post.
“Let’s just say that there are more pros than cons in removing the ministry,’’ the lawmaker told the paper, while another MP questioned the fairness of the decision.
“Umno won only one seat in Kuala Lumpur during the last general election, the rest was won by PH. This alone makes the proposal ludicrous,” the MP reportedly said.
The ministry was disbanded after the federal government coalition took power, and was placed under the purview of the Prime Minister’s Department on December 22 last year.
In June, talk of reinstating the Federal Territories Ministry surfaced at the Umno general assembly after its federal territories chapter urged party president and Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to push Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim on the matter.
The chapter wanted party vice-president Johari to be given a ministerial position in the Cabinet in recognition of his capability and performance during the 15th general election.
In GE15, PH won 10 parliamentary seats in Kuala Lumpur, with Barisan Nasional taking just one: Johari’s Titiwangsa.
DAP won five seats — Bukit Bintang, Cheras, Seputeh, Segambut and Kepong — while PKR won Lembah Pantai, Wangsa Maju, Bandar Tun Razak, Setiawangsa and Batu.
Johari, a former Titiwangsa MP, managed to retake the seat with a 4,623 majority, but his majority was the lowest among the others who contested for seats in Kuala Lumpur.
A PKR MP who wanted to be unnamed also confirmed the matter, but said things may have changed after the state elections.
“Umno did badly [in the state elections], so that talk should stop now as it no longer has clout,” the MP reportedly said.
In the recent state polls, Umno won only 19 out of 108 state seats it contested in six states.
The Federal Territories Ministry was established in 1979 with the country’s third Prime Minister Tun Hussein Onn helming it. The post was temporarily abolished in 1987 before it was revived in 2004 by then-prime minister Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi revived the ministry, with Tan Sri Mohamed Isa Abdul Samad in charge.
The last person to helm the ministry under the Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob’s Cabinet was Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim who has since quit Umno to join Perikatan Nasional.
