Big plans for Sabah, says Najib
Published on: Monday, May 07, 2018
Penampang: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak has appealed to voters here to give a stronger mandate to the Barisan Nasional (BN) for he has big plans for Sabah.He said he has done more for Sabah and Sabahans than any other Prime Minister and would want to do more if the people put back the ruling coalition in power with a stronger mandate. "I have big plans for Sabah. Look at our manifesto. And I will do more. No other Prime Minister has ever given allocations for perimeter survey. I'm the first to have done so. I gave RM20 million. ADVERTISEMENT If the allocation is not enough, I will add more," he said when meeting with more than 5,000 BN supporters at Hongkod Koisaan, Sunday night.Another first, he said, will be a non-Muslim unit which will be set up under the Prime Minister's Department to look into their affairs."Any issue involving non-Muslims (such as) problems facing Christians, churches and temples, they will now be able to make reference to the Government through the unit under the PM's Department," he said. He said on the request by leaders in Sabah, he agreed to allow English medium schools to be introduced in Sabah under a pilot project.ADVERTISEMENT "I listened (to their request). I'm a Prime Minister who listens to the people. Sabahans said why not test it in Sabah. So I said let's test it," he said.He also mentioned about the huge economic spill-overs that Sabah stands to benefit from the Tanjung Aru Eco Development (TAED) in view of the State's strong tourism industry.
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"We know that the biggest number of tourists coming here are from China. But Mahathir said he wanted to cancel contract with China. If China says don't come to Malaysia, the TAED will become a while elephant as with all the hotels, including those in Semporna and Sipadan," he said, referring to former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad who is now leading the opposition as Pakatan Harapan Chairman.Najib further said he has plans to expand the Kota Kinabalu International Airport and build a new terminal to attract more tourists to Sabah."By 2030, tourism will be the biggest industry," he said.He also reiterated his promise to return Sabah's rights under the Malaysia Agreement 1963, the process of which has begun.One of them, he said, is to have 90 per cent Sabahan teachers in Sabah schools, a process that is now already 86 per cent completed. He also promised to look into promoting more Sabahans as heads of Federal Government departments. On top of this, he said never in the country's history that many Sabahans had been appointed Ministers in the Federal Cabinet."All this is not (Datuk Seri) Shafie Apdal's struggle but that of the Sabah BN leaders'. I understand how Sabahans feel. I'm willing to return Sabah's rights," he said, referring to the opposition Parti Warisan Sabah president.Najib said has made working visits to Sabah many times as compared to Mahathir because he cares for the State."If he cares for Sabah, then why is he not campaigning here in this election? How to be PM?" he asked.He reiterated that the opposition cannot be a good government for the people because they have been hating each other for decades."They even demonised Mahathir for decades," he said.On this note, he advised Sabahans to secure their strong future in the BN.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
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To Penampang voters, he called on them to win back all the three seats it lost in the last election. Also present were Sabah Chief Minister Tan Sri Musa Aman, BN candidates for Moyog, Kapayan and Penampang Datuk Donald Mojuntin, Datuk Francis Goh and Ceasar Mandela Malakun, respectively. - Leonard Alaza