ACTIVE RT: Village community leader Mohamad Hassan (third right) presenting his village profile to Fadillah as Hasidah (third left) and others look on.
KUCHING: The neighbourhood committee (RT) of Kampung Samariang Batu has succeeded in turning the village into a proactive residential area with friendly people.
Petra Jaya MP Datuk Fadillah Yusuf, who pointed this out, said since he was elected as the MP for Petra Jaya, he had seen major changes to the village, which had become a good example of a neighbourhood.
“As we all know, Kampung Samariang Batu consists of people from all walks of life. We have professionals, civil servants, fishermen and businessmen hailing from this village and the diversity of the people here is what makes this place special,” said Fadillah.
Pointing to the fact that it was the residents’ initiative that had changed the image of the village to the better, he recalled the programme ‘Kamek Sayang Kitak’ which was aimed at reducing crime and had succeeded in turning the village from a black area into a white area.
“The villagers had shown their support where hundreds had shown up for the cause.
“This kind of unity is what we need as it is the factor to achieve the goal that we aim for,” he added.
He was speaking at the RT Kampung Samariang Batu Ramah Tamah Hari Raya and the launching of the RT at Dewan Kasba, Kampung Samariang Batu recently.
Fadillah, however, reminded the RT committee not to rest on their laurels as there were more challenges ahead, describing the success of today as the foundation for what to achieve in the future.
“We should always tell ourselves to hold on to the spirit of competitiveness.
“We should initiate the move and challenge ourselves to make change for the better,” he said to hundreds of villagers who attended the gathering.
He, later on, challenged parents from the village to look at the education of their children seriously.
“The challenge is to ensure that all the kids and youths in this village are equipped with adequate knowledge and become useful persons.
“The government had come up with various opportunities and it all goes back to the parents themselves,” he added.
Earlier on, National Integration and Unity Department state officer Hilman Jack Usli, in his speech, said the RT of Samariang Batu was the result of the restructuring of RT borders last year which had seen 10 new zones created under Samariang Batu.
Hilman added that the restructuring had seen the number of RTs in Kuching increase to 141 and called on the villagers to participate actively in RT activities.
Among those present were Samariang assemblywoman Sharifah Hasidah Sayeed Aman Ghazali, community leader Mohamad Hassan and village chief Mohamad Zain Idris.