Rantau college idea 'good', but are there enough students? - Mat Hasan

RANTAU POLLS | Umno acting president Mohamad Hasan (photo, above) said his opponent PKR's Dr S Streram's proposal to build a higher learning institute in Rantau is "good".

However, Mohamad questioned if there are enough people in Rantau to justify the move.

"The idea is good, do it, don't just say it. Sometimes Pakatan Harapan just says things.

"But to build a college in Rantau, there are not many residents. We must create critical mass first.

"You can't put the cart before the horse," he said at a press conference in Rantau today.

Earlier this morning, Streram said he would discuss the idea of creating a higher learning institute in Rantau with Negeri Sembilan menteri besar Aminuddin Harun.

Mohamad said creating critical mass and making Seremban part of the Greater Klang Valley was one of his plans when he was menteri besar.

He said he created homes for people to stay first, so they can commute to Kuala Lumpur.

People's burdens

Subsequently, when there were enough residents, he sought to create jobs for locals so that they need not travel to Kuala Lumpur.

Meanwhile, Mohamad objected to Water, Land, and Natural Resources Minister Dr Xavier Jayakumar's insistence that water tariffs need to be raised.

"Don't add to the people's burdens," he said.

He said the government should instead focus on increasing the efficiency of water services so that costs can be lowered.

Xavier yesterday said tariffs need to be raised as they had remained the same for over 20 years.

He also said fixing infrastructure to reduce the waste of treated water by just one percent could cost up to RM1 billion.

Mohamad expressed concern that the government was relying more on taxation and debt to generate revenue, instead of gaining income from development.

Meanwhile, when asked about the Negeri Sembilan Harapan government's boasting of increased investments in 2018, Mohamad said such things take more than six months to achieve.

"What can you do in just six months?

"For investments, negotiations don't (conclude) overnight. It takes two or three years," he said.

Asked if the figures achieved by Harapan were the fruits of his labours, Mohamad replied: "You can say that."

Previously, Negeri Sembilan exco member Mohamad Rafie Ab Malek claimed that Harapan's hard work had resulted in investment in the state growing to RM2.86 billion in 2018, compared with RM1.41 billion in 2017. - Mkini