She said the mobilisers (known as PeKTs) would merely convey the government’s latest initiatives, policies to the low-income earners and the hardcore poor. The representatives were assigned to local governments on a geographical basis and they would not interfere with local governance, she said.

Zuraida said the members, a mix of political and NGO appointees, reported directly to the housing and local government ministry and not to the local councils.

“I think the group (that was against PeKTs) missed the point of this. They should not be going against it, I think they don’t understand,” she said referring to Dekat, a local governance interest group.

Yesterday, Dekat said the appointment of PeKTs went beyond the role of the ministry, and questioned if the new appointments were being made for political gain.

Explaining the hierarchy of the mobilisers, Zuraida said each PeKT team would have 15 members, where each team would cover the typical 24 wards in a local council.

She said there would be a yearly allocation of RM10,000 for each team, with RM2,000 allocated monthly to the PeKT chief for management expenses.

She added that the teams would be allowed to solicit donations for community engagement events.

Zuraida said the first to receive PeKTs would be Melaka, followed by Penang, Selangor and Kelantan, where the current number of mobilisers is at 550 members.

She said the mobilisers would carry out community work such as “trash to cash” recycling efforts, hold crime and fire prevention talks and provide aid to the poor.

In Bayan Lepas earlier today, she presented credentials to 157 PeKT members appointed in Penang, Negeri Sembilan and Selangor.