SIBU: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak tonight made local history when he became the first prime minister to visit Rejang Park here, long considered a stronghold of the DAP.
He told the people who came to listen him speak on the eve of the polling day for the Sibu parliamentary by-election that the Barisan Nasional government under his leadership truly believed in the concept of 1Malaysia.
"Under 1Malaysia we want to work closely together and that is why I have come to Rejang Park because I am the prime minister for all communities," he said at the meet-the-people session held at Rejang Park, one of the town's earliest low-cost residental areas.
Making a final pitch for votes, Najib announced an allocation of RM5 million for flood-mitigation projects in Rejang Park.
Also present were Deputy Chief Minister George Chan, Rural and Regional Development Minister Shafie Apdal and the BN's candidate, Robert Lau Hui Yew.
Even though the residents supported the opposition, he said, he wanted them to listen to him -- to tell one story, with only one storyline, which was 1Malaysia.
"BN is the government that speaks one language to the people of Sibu. I want to prove to you its all right to have some problems or some unhappiness but this is a new beginning because we are listening to you," he said.
The Prime Minister said his pledge was to help all communities because he wanted Malaysia to become a strong 21st century nation that was fully developed, which was not an impossible dream.
One family
The government had proven it, for example, when he announced two days ago the country's first quarter figures of 10.1%, making it on track to achieve a high growth rate this year, said Najib, who is also Finance Minister.
"God willing, in 10 years' time we will have achieved developed country status with a high income (by 2020) but we cannot get there unless the Malays, Chinese, Iban, Kadazandusun and Indians are together in this journey as one family," he said.
He said, however, Malaysia could not be a prosperous nation unless there was harmony in the country and the only way to unite the diverse ethnic groups was by not telling lies, saying one thing to one community and a different thing to another.
Addressing a crowd at the Sibu Gateway here later, Najib said the country's recent success in registering a 10.1% growth in the first quarter of this year reflected the effectiveness of the government's economic stimulation measures.
While several countries, including some in Europe had yet to recover from the last economic turmoil, Malaysia was now back on track to achieve its vision of becoming a developed and high income nation by 2020, he added.
- Bernama
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