KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 24 — The federal government will save approximately RM2.3 million annually in emolument expenditures from the dissolution of the Federal Territories Ministry, Datuk Seri Azalina Othman Said told Parliament today.
The de facto law minister also said the restructuring the ministry as an agency under the Prime Minister’s Department has not caused any disruptions to matters previously under the ministry’s purview.
“The ministry’s dissolution followed by the creation of the Federal Territories Department has provided savings in federal spending as much as RM2,358,912.61 annually.
“The government does not face any operational problems as a result of the change in the status from a ministry to a department since the functions and responsibilities of safeguarding the interests, development and wellbeing of the Federal Territories is now placed under the prime minister,” she said in a written parliamentary reply to Seputeh MP Teresa Kok.
Azalina said management of the federal territories’ affairs such as planning, coordination, monitoring and policy-setting are still being handled by the newly formed Federal Territories Department.
The federal territories in Malaysia consist of Kuala Lumpur, Putrajaya, and Labuan.
The ministry, established in 1979, was last led by Datuk Seri Shahidan Kassim as minister prior to the dissolution of Parliament on October 10.
