Abolishing Federal Territories Ministry saved govt over RM2mil yearly, says Azalina

KUALA LUMPUR: Abolishing the Federal Territories Ministry resulted in the federal government saving more than RM2 mil a year, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said.

The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said this is due to the reduction in the payment of emoluments.

“Abolishing the Federal Territories Ministry followed by the formation of the Federal Territories Department saw the federal government saving as much as RM2,358,912.61 a year from reducing its commitment to paying emoluments,” she said.

Azalina said this in a written Parliamentary reply on Wednesday (Oct 25) in response to a question by Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh) who asked about the total expenditures saved through the abolishment of the Federal Territories Ministry.

Kok also asked about the challenges faced by the government after the said Ministry was abolished.

To this, Azalina said the government did not face any operational challenges as the functions and responsibilities to oversee the development of Federal Territories is under the jurisdiction of the Prime Minister.

The changes came into effect through an order gazetted on Jan 20, 2023.

“Managing the Federal Territories through aspects such as planning, monitoring and policy making, as well as programmes and activities are continued under the Federal Territories Department that is as an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department,” Azalina said.

Earlier this month, Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said he hoped the Federal Territories Ministry would be created again, in the event of a cabinet reshuffle.

The former Federal Territories Ministry has had eight different ministers since it was revived in 2004, with Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim the last to hold the portfolio.