Zuraida: 70 Chinese ‘penghulus’ appointed to look after welfare of Chinese new villages

KUALA LUMPUR: Some 70 Chinese ‘penghulus’, 30% of whom are women, were appointed to look into the welfare of Chinese new villages, says Housing and Local Government Minister Zuraida Kamaruddin.

“The officers will be akin to Malay penghulus who are responsible for looking after villages in areas under their care.

“They will start their duties in January and serve for a two-year period before their contract is reviewed,” she told reporters at a press conference in Parliament Thursday (Nov 22).

She said the officers will undergo training on how to empower the Chinese new villages and will be answerable to her ministry.

She said the appointments of the officers does not include heads of Chinese new villages appointed by the respective states.

Zuraida said that her ministry is studying a similar module for implementation in Sabah and Sarawak.

She said there are currently 613 Chinese new villages in the peninsula.

She added that Perak had the highest number of Chinese new villages, totalling 126, followed by Johor with 83.

Source: TheStar