DPM: Solid support needed to continue high-impact projects

KUCHING, Jan 28 — Solid support from the people is crucial to enable the present government to continue efforts to implement high-impact projects that will bring considerable benefits to the people. 

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said today such high-impact projects had been carried out for the past three years through the implementation of the Economic Transformation Programme that emphasised on raising the people’s income.

Speaking at the official opening of the Medan Niaga Satok costing RM46.6 million here, he said although Malaysia had generally been successful in achieving significant development, what was more important was its positive impact on the rakyat.

“It’s meaningless if the state or country is developed but the people are still poor. The government has surplus funds but the people have nothing,” he said.

Muhyiddin (picture)said the Medan Niaga Satok was also a successful project in generating a positive impact in helping the rakyat, particularly the farmers, in raising their income. 

Through close co-operation between the federal and Sarawak state governments, Muhyiddin said the Medan Niaga Satok project had been completed, providing space for more than 2,000 petty traders to carry out their businesses.

In addition, the plan to merge agro-based industries with the tourism industry at the commercial complex would also add value to such efforts, he said.

“Such a project will certainly have multiplying effects in terms of the volume of business to be generated,” he said. 

At the ceremony, he also announced an additional allocation of RM13.5 million for additional facilities for the comfort of the traders and visitors at the complex. 

Muhyiddin said the success of the project was another proof of the capability of the BN government in fulfilling its pledges to help the rakyat in raising their standard of living. 

The deputy prime minister said the inability of the state governments under the opposition pact to fulfil their pledges made in the last general election had prompted the people in the states concerned to demand for the implementation of the pledges in court.

“The courts are willing to hear (the cases brought up by the people) because there are solid grounds when a government promises to implement something (but) fails to fulfil them, it means that it (the government concerned) has forgotten its promises. It (the government) is untrustworthy,” he said.

He said that the BN government, on the other hand, had taken extraordinary initiatives in the past several years to look after the welfare of the people.

“The people know what their problems are and expect that the government can help to resolve their problems,” Muhyiddin added. — Bernama