Najib presenting ang pow to some of the 366 senior citizens at the ‘An Evening With the Chinese Community In Pekan Parliament’ event. — Bernama photo
PEKAN: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak yesterday reiterated that society must not be easily duped by the political farce of certain quarters who say investments from China is akin to pawning off national sovereignty.
He said the investments from China were the same as those by other countries, taking into account the inter-connected world and the globalisation phenomenon.
“Basically, there is no difference between investments from China with those from Europe, Japan, South Korea and others … we can accept investments from the ‘white men’s’ nations, but when from China, (they) say we want to sell sovereignty.
“This is unfair, because investments from China benefits the nation including us in Pahang, not only large investments like ECRL (the construction of the East Coast Train Railway) but the price of palm oil also go up, to simultaneously profit smallholders and settlers,” he said.
Najib, who is also the Pekan Member of Parliament, said this at An Evening With the Chinese Community In Pekan Parliament programme at Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Cina (SJKC) Pekan, here yesterday which was also attended by Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.
Najib, at the same time, gave his assurance no race would be marginalised in national development, which was the government policy and his responsibility as prime minister.
“As such, we must show our concern by having numerous programmes other than policies which encompass all quarters. (We) must go down to the field to meet, shake hands and give attention to every community’s problem,” he said.
Najib, in his speech, also admitted that SJKC Pekan was close to his heart due to its uniqueness of having 60 per cent Malay pupils followed by Chinese (29 per cent), Orang Asli (15 per cent) and Indian (four per cent).
“This makes the school a reflection of the composition of our society,” he said.
At the ceremony, Najib also handed over ‘ang pow’ to 366 senior citizens and mandarin oranges to the Chinese community which would be celebrating Chinese New Year on Jan 28.
Meanwhile, in his speech at the closing of a Pre-Marriage Course participated by 500 participants organised by Pekan Umno Puteri movement, Najib expressed his concern at the collapse of the family institution and marriage which was currently on the upward trend.
He said the situation resulted in some members of the community being easily influenced by negative elements such as the Daesh militants.
“Some are trapped in a different ideology because of their fragile family foundation, they are not happy and try to shift their attention towards seeking freedom outside including becoming fighters under the Daesh group even to the extent of becoming suicide bombers.
“They merely cast aside the pleas of their parents..wives. They have their own understanding of Islam which in reality is contrary to true Islamic values,” he said.
For this, he said the government and Umno specifically would continue to do their best to ensure the wellbeing of society and country by also prioritising human development and not merely physical development. — Bernama