KUALA LUMPUR: Umno Selangor has decided to relinquish the 20 local council posts in the state to its coalition partner, Pakatan Harapan (PH).
As reported by a Malay news portal, Umno Selangor chairman, Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin, said the move demonstrates the party's lack of greed for positions and refutes claims of pressuring PH for roles.
While relinquishing the local council posts, Umno Selangor expressed the desire for 373 posts on the Village Development and Safety Committee in the state.
Megat Zulkarnain explained that Umno Selangor aims for a collaborative approach, with PH managing urban areas and Umno handling rural areas.
He also said the decision was made during the Umno Selangor meeting attended by all 22 divisions at the Umno Shah Alam office on Friday night.
"We will present the decisions to Umno president, Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, tomorrow (Sunday) during a closed meeting in Sepang," he said after delivering a speech at the MCA Selangor Retreat held at Wisma MCA today.
Despite the amicable decision, Megat Zulkarnain expressed disappointment because, during the negotiations for the local council posts and a day before Umno held its meeting on the matter, PH had already appointed members to the local councils.
He said the 20 posts were offered by the state government and were part of the total 288 local council seats in Selangor.
"Everyone is unaware that the 20 local council seats are out of 288. In terms of percentage, it's only 7 per cent.
"Comparatively, in Melaka, PH was offered 17 positions out of 78 local council seats. If we look at the percentage, it's 20 per cent, and there PH rejected. Until today, the local council members in Melaka have not been appointed," he added.
It was reported that there were those in Selangor PH who were unhappy over concessions granted to Umno.
A Selangor executive councillor, who spoke on condition of anonymity, said Umno was being "too demanding" despite only winning two seats in last year's state election.
Megat Zulkarnain emphasised that Umno's approach is not about excessive demands but rather negotiating in the spirit of friendship.
"So I want to remind everyone, this is not about us making demands, not about us being unaware, but it's about us being friends.
"If we were greedy, we would ask for more (positions)," he said.
