THE Federal Government managed to save more than RM2mil after the Federal Territories Ministry was abolished, says Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said (pic).
The Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department (Law and Institutional Reform) said the savings made were due to the reduction in the annual payment of emoluments.
“Abolishing the Federal Territories Ministry, followed by the formation of the Federal Territories Department, resulted in the Federal Government saving as much as RM2,358,912.61 a year, from reducing its commitment to paying emoluments,” she said in a written reply to Teresa Kok (PH-Seputeh).
Kok had asked about the total expenditure saved through the abolishment of the Federal Territories Ministry.
Kok also asked about the challenges faced by the government after the ministry was abolished.
To this, Azalina said the government did not face any operational issues as a result of the restructuring of the ministry into a department.
“This is due to the fact that the government has placed the function and responsibility of safeguarding the interests of the Federal Territory’s development and well-being under the Prime Minister through the Federal Territories Ministers’ Directive 2023 P.U(A) 27/2023, which was gazetted on Jan 20, 2023.
“Managing the Federal Territories particularly in the aspects of planning, monitoring and formulating policies, as well as programmes and activities, is continued under the Federal Territories Department, which is an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department,” she 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 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.
