KUCHING: Newly-minted Deputy Minister of Home Affairs Masir Kujat is thankful to his party and prime minister for his appointment.
However, he prefers to be briefed on his scope of work first before commenting on what he can do for the state and country.
“I would like to thank my party president Tan Sri Datuk Amar Dr James Jemut Masing for his recommendation and the prime minister for his trust in me,” Masir told The Borneo Post here yesterday.
He disclosed that he had a conversation with Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Zahid Hamidi just a couple of weeks ago on how to improve security along the border areas, especially in Sarawak.
“Security along our border with Kalimantan would be one of my top priorities. There have been so many crime cases involving illegal immigrants along the border between Sarawak and Kalimantan such as along Sri Aman and Lubok Antu areas. With my appointment, I hope to tackle these crimes with the assistance of our enforcement agencies.
“And as a former district officer, there are many things that I can do to strengthen the government’s machinery especially in dealing with registration of marriages and MyKad issues,” said Masir who was a former district officer of Lubok Antu.
When asked about his appointment, he said he had heard some rumours about it but could not verify it until he saw a live telecast on the cabinet reshuffle yesterday.
“I heard some rumours about my appointment but I thought it was just a joke. Then, I was informed by my personal assistant to watch the television yesterday and I was quite surprised that my name was included,” he said.
The PRS supreme council member and a second-term Sri Aman MP is confident that he can get good guidance from his new boss Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi, who has been appointed deputy prime minister.
“I am quite close to him (Ahmad Zahid) and also to my predecessor Dato Sri Dr Wan Junaidi Tuanku Jaafar. I would continue to have close rapport with him (Wan Junaidi) for guidance and advice especially on Sarawak matters,” he stressed.
Meanwhile, PRS supreme council member and political secretary to the chief minister Wilson Nyabong hoped that Masir would continue to assist the state government to provide MyKads to people living in the rural areas.
“There are still many Dayaks especially in the rural areas who are still without MyKads. His appointment will augur well for the Dayak community,” said Nyabong.