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MARAN (Bernama): Bentong will become Pahang’s second city after Kuantan, and the Bentong Municipal Council improvement process is expected to be completed this year, says Housing and Local Government Minister Datuk Zuraida Kamaruddin.
He said the update process was now at the administrative level, requiring the state government to submit a request to the federal government, and then it would be several months before it was approved by the cabinet.
“Bentong has met the criteria to be elevated to city status in terms of income, but it has not reached the required population of more than 500,000 people. We will see if some flexibility can be given considering the development that is taking place. out there. ” she said.
Zuraida spoke to journalists after a working visit to the Maran district here on Monday (February 22), accompanied by his deputy, Datuk Seri, Dr. Ismail Abd Muttalib, who is also a Maran MP, and Culture, Unity , Social Welfare, Women and Family Development of Pahang. Committee Chairman Datuk Seri Shahaniza Shamsuddin.
In a related development, Zuraida said that the Pekan district council is currently in the process of being promoted to a municipal council for this year, while the Maran district council (MDC) is also expected to get the go-ahead in 2022. .
To help the MDC achieve the goal, Zuraida said that his ministry had approved an allocation of RM7mil, with RM5mil for development work, including repairing the damage caused by the floods in Maran, which was between the areas most affected earlier this year.
“Another RM1,000 each will be to help solid waste management and improve facilities and infrastructure at tourist locations, including business center development, as Maran will soon have an East Coast Rail Link (ECRL) station,” he said. .
Additionally, Zuraida said that guidelines for improving the status of local authorities in tourist areas were being refined because some criteria such as population size were difficult to meet.
He said that in such cases, different criteria could be used, such as the number of tourists it attracted.
In a separate development, he said that his ministry had approved the construction of fire stations in Chenor, here and Gambang, Kuantan with an allocation of RM4 thousand each, in addition to accepting the request from the state government that the facility be provided in Benta, Lipis, located about 185 km. from here.
“The approvals for Chenor and Gambang were made after taking into account that the distance to the nearest fire station is more than 30 kilometers, and the population density requires that facilities be provided for their safety,” he added. – Bernama
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