PM says can stave off Arab bug

Najib said it was crucial to “put the interests of the people first”. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Feb 28 — Datuk Seri Najib Razak said last night that the transformation that the government is carrying out will enable Malaysia to avoid the fate of the nations which are now the focus of the world.

The prime minister said the government practised a system that allowed it to know the expectations and aspirations of the people.

With the practice of open democracy, the government would know whatever it was that the people desired, he said at an International Islamic University Malaysia alumni dinner at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre.

“I have always stressed how crucial it is to feel the [pulse] of the people and this is what can ensure stability, meaning that whatever we do, we put the interests of the people first,” Najib said.

Najib listed three ways that alumni could contribute to the development of their university and the nation as a whole.

He said that one way was to give monetary aid, as was being done by the university alumni association, which is sponsoring three students doing their doctorate.

Another way was to give back to society. Teaching English to students in the rural areas was a good example of this, he said.

Najib said the third way was for the alumni to uphold the national agenda for the good of all.

“I believe that the support of the alumni, of every alumnus, will go a long way towards achieving our national mission,” he said.

Also present at the dinner were Najib’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, former prime minister Tun Mahathir Mohamad and Chief Secretary to the Government, Tan Sri Mohd Sidek Hassan, who is president of the university.

Najib presented alumni awards to Dr Mahathir, former rector of the university Tan Sri Dr Mohd Kamal Hassan, Perak Mentri Besar Perak Datuk Seri Dr Zambry Abd Kadir, managing director of the AgroBank Datuk Ahmad Said, Professor Dr Ida Madieha Abdul Ghani Azmi, Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Ismail Omar, Bosnia Herzegovina Ambassador to Malaysia Ensar Eminovic, Profesor Datuk Dr Khairil Annas Jusoh, Datuk Rais Hussin Mohamed Ariff, Datuk Khairul Anwar Rahmat and Datuk Muhammad Khairun Tan Sri Aseh. — Bernama