Village security and development committee (JKKK) members in Penang face an immediate sacking if complaints about their attitude were lodged against them.

Deputy Chief Minister I Mansor Othman said panel members should no longer inconvenience the people who approach them with their various excuses.

They should respond immediately or address the people’s needs accordingly as they had been tasked to do, he added.

“If we hear complaints from the villagers, we will sack the concerned JKKK member immediately,” he told reporters in Komtar.

“It used to be so difficult to even get a signature from these JKKK members... they would give excuses that they forgot to bring their stamps or that they have left them at home... these acts frustrate the people,” added the Penanti assemblyperson.

mansor othman and penang Mansor,who is state PKR chief, said JKKK members were appointed to provide services to the people and that it was pointless giving them “sweets” if they did not carry out their duties.

However, the best performing panel members would receive a project worth RM50,000 which is beneficial for the people within the area.

“We do not just say sweet nothings, we actually do what we have been promising so far,” he said. "(Handing out) sweets is BN’s and Umno’s culture, not ours”.

Meanwhile, Mansor said that the cost of paying for JKKK panels was far “cheaper” than BN’s or Umno’s wastage since Pakatan ruled the state.

Currently, the state allocates funds and projects beneficial to the people to the JKKK members and assemblypersons, including places where Pakatan Rakyat lost in the last election.

150 JKKK panels in Penang

There are about 150 JKKK panels in the island and mainland, with each committee comprising of about 400 members.

To ensure accountability and transparency in money matters, Mansor said each constituency maintains its own accounts.

“If anybody wants to know what we spent on and how much, we can show them,” he said.

He also stressed that JKKK panels must work closely with the existing assemblypersons, and officials from the district offices, which report to the federal government.

“They are now also asked to look for their own funds, for example they can start a cooperative... these are beneficial to the people,” he said.