Nearly 40% of councillors under 40, says Johor exco member

KULAI: Some 40% out of the newly appointed 384 councillors at 16 local councils in Johor are under the age of 40, says state exco member Datuk Mohd Jafni Md Shukor (pic).

The Johor housing and local government committee chairman added that all of the new councillors have gone through a vetting process carried out by various agencies including the police and Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC).

"Their term is from April 1 this year until Dec 31, 2025," said Mohd Jafni when met during his Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house held at Hutan Bandar MPKu here on Saturday (April 20).

Mohd Jafni, who was also Bukit Permai assemblyman, added that the majority of the 384 councillors came from Barisan Nasional parties such as Umno, MCA and MIC with some from non-governmental organisations.

He defended the decision of not appointing representatives from Pakatan Harapan as councillors saying that Barisan held majority of the 56 state seat following Johor state election some two years ago.

"Barisan holds two third majority in the Johor state assembly and we have to respect the mandate given by the people. However, despite not having any representative at local council level, it will not affect the relationship between Barisan and Pakatan.

"This is because under the leadership of Johor Mentri Besar Datuk Onn Hafiz Ghazi, Pakatan elected representatives at the state assembly received the same allocation as Barisan representatives," he added.

Mohd Jafni, who was also Kulai Umno division chief, also said that Johor Barisan respected their Pakatan counterparts as their strategic partner.

"We are working closely with one another. In fact, their elected representatives, either assemblyman or MPs, can attend district action council meetings, which are chaired by the respective district officers.

"Through this meeting, they can take part in solving or bringing up local issues affecting the people in their respective constituency," he said.