Credit : Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi's X
TANJUNG KLING, MELAKA November 10, 2026 — Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said on Tuesday that the Public Service Department (PSD) is assessing the financial implications of a proposal to create 10,250 permanent posts for officers and staff of the Community Development Department (KEMAS) nationwide, and that he hopes the government will decide soon.
He was speaking at a gathering of KEMAS Melaka staff with the department’s top management at Puteri Qashrina Chalet in Pantai Puteri, Tanjung Kling, according to reports by The Edge Malaysia and Melaka Hari Ini. KEMAS director-general Datuk Mohd Hanafiah Man was among those present.
Ahmad Zahid, who is also Minister of Rural and Regional Development, told reporters that a memorandum and proposal paper on the matter was sent to the director-general of Public Service through the ministry more than six months ago. The PSD is now looking at the financial implications, he said, to make sure the proposal would not place an undue burden on government finances if it is carried out.
“We are confident that the PSD will carefully assess the proposal to ensure it does not strain government finances, as the government’s policy for new posts is to offer permanent appointments with contributions to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF),” he said. “We hope the government will make a decision on the matter soon.”
The proposal would replace the contract status under which most KEMAS employees now serve with permanent appointments. In July, Ahmad Zahid proposed converting all key KEMAS positions into permanent posts, noting that most of the department’s employees were serving on contract under the existing service scheme.
He said some KEMAS staff had served for as long as 41 years, only to retire without a pension, and that this was one of the main reasons the effort had to continue. “We will therefore continue pushing for permanent appointments to be offered to KEMAS officers and staff nationwide as soon as possible,” he said. He added that the ministry would keep monitoring developments to safeguard the welfare and future of KEMAS employees.
In a post on X after the event, Ahmad Zahid thanked KEMAS Melaka staff for their service and said the gathering, held with the wider KEMAS family in the state, had been a special one. He praised the educators who devote themselves to the nation’s children every day. From early childhood education to skills training, he said, many children from villages and rural families had benefited from the department’s services and the sacrifices of its staff.
He also pointed to what he called progress in the sector, including the expansion of KEMAS Pra-Tahfiz classes and the TABIKA Tunas Istimewa initiative that was piloted in Melaka. He said efforts to strengthen KEMAS should continue to receive attention, including the welfare and career future of its members. “What is good, we continue; what is still lacking, we improve,” he wrote.
The two programmes he mentioned have a Melaka history. TABIKA Tunas Istimewa are KEMAS kindergarten classes with a learning module designed for children with mild autism. Melaka was the pioneer state with three such classes, and in a speech on September 27, 2026 the Chief Minister, Datuk Seri Utama Ab Rauf Yusoh, said they had benefited more than 30 children in the state. The department’s director-general has said 19 such classes now operate nationwide, including in the Federal Territories, Melaka and Perak.
The Pra-Tahfiz programme, which puts extra emphasis on Quran learning and worship within the KEMAS kindergarten curriculum, also began as a pilot in Melaka, with three kindergartens in the state taking part in 2023. The state’s rural development executive councillor said in July 2024 that the target was to have 150 such kindergartens operating in Melaka.
The staff gathering was one of Ahmad Zahid’s engagements in Melaka on November 10, which also included the Melaka Smallholders Prosperity Programme and RISDA State Open Day in Alor Gajah. No decision on the proposed 10,250 permanent posts had been announced at the time of the gathering.
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