JOHOR BARU, July 21 — Johor Parti Amanah Negara (Amanah) today claimed that the issue regarding the appointment of village chiefs in Johor has yet to be resolved.

Johor Amanah chapter secretary Mohd Faizul Salleh said the party received information from village chiefs that the appointments still had issues as they have only been receiving part of their allowances.

He claimed that the issue had cropped up due to the appointment of village chiefs arranged according to certain political parties who were part of the state ruling coalition.

“Some village chiefs have complained that their allowance received from the Rural Development Ministry was only half as the data from the state was incomplete.

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“This situation has caused the affected village chiefs in the state to receive only half of their allowance while carrying out their duties full time,” Mohd Faizul told Malay Mail when contacted.

It is understood that the issue of village chief allowances in Johor has been linked to the selection of the village chiefs that did not follow the required criteria.

This has also caused the appointment of village chiefs in the Muar district to be postponed.

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Mohd Faizul urged the Johor government to resolve the matter urgently.

He said even after more than a year of being in power, the Perikatan Nasional state administration has yet to resolve the problem.

The issue of village chief appointments in Johor was first highlighted by Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) leaders earlier this year who claimed that most of the appointed heads were from Umno and that they were not consulted.

They complained that Bersatu has fewer village chiefs under the current PN state government than the previous government led by Pakatan Harapan (PH).

In March this year, Johor Ruler Sultan Ibrahim Sultan Iskandar had said that appointing village heads is the responsibility of district officers and penghulu and not politicians.

He reminded that district officers are considered higher than politicians, who are assemblyman or MPs, as they are the principal leaders of government administration at district level.