Changes In Rural Areas Cannot Stop, Add New Ideas, Says PM Najib

KAMPUNG GAJAH (Perak, Malaysia), Feb 20 (Bernama) -- Malaysian Prime Minister Najib Razak said changes for the rural areas in the country should not stop after the efforts made by the previous leaders. The Prime Minister said besides focusing on basic amenities for the rural dwellers, constructive ideas and contributions were needed to carry out changes in the rural areas needed to ensure the success of the government's transformation efforts. He said those inheriting the national leadership must complement the rural development agenda and should not think that what they had inherited should stop after the achievements made today. "We continue and strengthen further the achievements for the benefit and comfort of the rural dwellers. "We will do whatever is necessary, not only in terms of the basic amenities, but if there are no constructive and creative ideas there will not be any significant transformation in the rural areas," he said at the gathering of the people of the Pasir Salak Parliamentary constituency and the launch of Permodalan Felcra Berhad. He said the government wanted to boost the income of the rural dwellers by thinking of creating value-added elements, the entry of new technology as well as widening the business facilities. He said Felcra, a government-owned company, which registered a record dividend of RM912.95 million (US$301.149 million) which was considered very good, had proven that such agencies were capable of giving positive impact to rural transformation. "This is an exceptional achievement (for Felcra) which brings a significant change to the rural community. "This is because in most developing nations, we see only the urban areas are progressive whereas there are no changes towards development and progress in the rural areas," he said. Najib said if Felcra were to merge and focus their efforts together with the government agencies responsible for the development of the rural communities, then the impact would be even bigger. Najib said the government was not afraid of lies spread by opposition parties, which would always find a way to ridicule all the efforts mounted by the government. "What matters is that the truth will prevail," he said. He said the fact that the followers and close friends of the opposition leader had started abandoning him had also raised serious questions. "There must be something wrong if people started abandoning him. I never saw anything like this. This is probably a new record," he said. The prime minister also called on the people to make the right decision at the next general election because obviously, the poll was not for certain individuals like him, but for the future of the country and the next generation. During the event, Najib also launched the establishment of Permodalan Felcra Berhad with an investment fund of RM100 (US$32.98). He also presented letters of ownership to 10 individuals who represented 250 participants of Seberang Perak Felcra Berhad. -- BERNAMA