KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 1 — If Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor’s wish were to come true, Penang, Kedah’s island of Langkawi and parts of Malacca may one day become part of the Federal Territories that would come directly under Putrajaya’s control.
The Federal Territories minister told business radio station BFM in an interview this morning of his wish to expand the Federal Territories.
“I would like to expand the Federal Territories if I can. If I can, I would take Langkawi, Penang and certain parts of Malacca,” he said in the interview to mark Federal Territories Day today.
“With the involvement of the federal government, they would get more funding and more attention,” he added.
He also believed that the states would be happy to hand over control of certain areas to the federal government.
“I believe the states are happy to give them as federal territories because it means more attention and more money is poured into the territory,” he said.
As an example, Tengku Adnan said that Putrajaya had pumped about RM5 billion into Labuan, which is a Federal Territory as well.
The current Federal Territories are Kuala Lumpur, administrative capital Putrajaya and Labuan.
“If we had allowed Kuala Lumpur as just being Kuala Lumpur, it won’t be what it is today. We need the Federal Territories because the ruling government has a certain programme and planning (to be implemented),” the Putrajaya MP said.
He also claimed that the Selangor government currently led by PKR, is “not serious” about its plastic bag ban and compared its campaign to the efforts by the Kuala Lumpur City Hall — which is under his ministry — to ban polystyrene and also plastic bags in the national capital.
“I don’t think that they are serious. They did not do an in depth study, we did an in depth study and we decided polystyrene is a health hazard,” he said.
