Institution of village heads, community leaders must undergo transformation - DPM

Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi wants the institution of village heads and community leaders to undergo a transformation to remain relevant in the rapidly changing world.

Ahmad Zahid said though the institutions are traditional in nature, the role played by the institution and contributions in connecting the community with the government cannot be denied.

"The institution must go through changes, not only in terms of transformation but in various aspects, including communications. The communications system in the generation X era has changed.

"Right now 87 percent of the communication or interaction among Generation X is 'non-verbal communication', only 13 percent use the conventional method of face to face interaction," he said.

Ahmad Zahid was speaking to reporters after opening Federation of Malaysia Village Chiefs and Community Leaders Delegation Meeting, here Saturday.

The Deputy Prime Minister said he would propose to the Minister of Communications and Multimedia Datuk Seri Dr Salleh Said Keruak to equip Village Heads and Community Leaders with free state of the art gadgets.

"These state of the art (gadgets) are important to translate modernisation and transformation plus transform the institution of village heads and community leaders," he said to a loud applause from the floor.

He said he would urge the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) to allocate funds collected from telecommunications companies (telco) to organise courses related to communications for village heads and community leaders.

Ahmad Zahid added that he wants the scale for the posts of village heads and community leaders to be upgraded in line with their responsibilities.

He said all 707 posts available for village heads and community leaders throughout the country must be filled because currently only 606 positions have been filled. --Bernama