Involvement of Kemas staff in politics an old practice, says Mahdzir

GUA MUSANG: Permission for Community Development Department (Kemas) employees to be involved in politics does not pose any issues, as it has been the practice before, says Datuk Seri Mahdzir Khalid (pic).

The Rural Development Minister said this was because Kemas teachers and supervisors were not from the "DG" grade category, compared to teachers under the Education Ministry who have a staffing structure that involved positions at the management level.

"Actually, from the beginning, teachers could be involved in politics...in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) era, they (PH) issued a circular to stop (teachers from being involved in politics) where whoever held office would have action taken against them, whereas before that, there was no such restriction," he said in a statement here Monday (Jan 24).

On Saturday (Jan 22), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob informed that school teachers, as well as Kemas employees nationwide, were allowed to engage in politics with immediate effect. - Bernama