Ties between the Kelantan government and the federal government should not be managed by ‘middlemen’, says Kelantan Deputy Menteri Besar Mohd Amar Nik Abdullah.

Amar said the state-federal relationship should take place in the spirit of federalism, and that the ‘absence’ of middlemen and should not become a major issue.

"In my view, if there is no minister (or deputy minister) in the federal cabinet from Kelantan, it is not a problem, because what is crucial is the ties between the state government and federal government.

“That is one of the main objectives of the menteri besar’s (Ahmad Yakob) visit to the prime minister (Dr Mahathir Mohamad) on Monday to forge new ties between the new federal government and state government in the spirit of federalism,” he said.

Amar was speaking to reporters after attending an Aidilfitri open house in Nilam Puri organised by the Kelantan Islamic Foundation, which was also attended by the menteri besar.

Amar was commenting on the purported list that went viral of federal ministers and deputy ministers to be sworn in on Monday, that did not include any representative from Kelantan.

In another development, Amar said the state government had, in principle, agreed to provide allocations to opposition representatives in Kelantan to discharge their duties more effectively.

The matter was decided in the state exco meeting recently, but the quantum of the allocation to be given had yet to be decided, he noted.

- Bernama