STRONG SUPPORT: The crowd waits to shake hands with Najib as he leaves the stadium after the function.
Najib says government ready to consider Dr Sim’s suggestion under NKEA
KUCHING: The government will consider establishing a health metropolis in Sarawak under the National Key Economic Areas (NKEA), Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said last night.
He said he would support Barisan Nasional (BN) Pending candidate Prof Dr Sim Kui Hian’s idea to set up a health metropolis in the state.
“I believe Dr Sim is the right person to implement the metropolis and we could include it in the NKEA because we have special allocation to improve the health industry. If the metropolis is set up, it will benefit thousands of people,” Najib said at the meet-the-people session at MBKS Indoor Stadium here last night.
Establishing the metropolis in Samarahan is one of the plans promised by Dr Sim if he was given the mandate to be the elected representative for Pending.
Dr Sim had said in many functions that the metropolis could provide world class public healthcare and medical research and education in the state. His vision of the metropolis in the state would include a pharmaceutical factory, research and development team in medical as well as universities from India and China offering medical courses.
Najib also pledged that he would seriously consider every request of the elected BN people’s representative if it benefits the people.
“If a request is from the opposition members, it might not be approved,” he said.
On a different matter, he described Datuk Alfred Yap (BN Kota Sentosa candidate) as a fine example of a leader who fought for Chinese education.
Yap had earlier expressed his hope that the government would consider setting up the seventh Chinese primary school in Tabuan/BDC area to meet the demand of the increasing population.
Also present at the gathering were Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Minister in the Prime Minister’s Department Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, BN Batu Lintang candidate Sih Hua Tong and BN Padungan candidate Sim Kiang Chiok.
Najib assured Sarawakians that BN would deliver all promises made, while pointing out that DAP’s slogan for a change in the state was irrelevant.
“In BN, we don’t make empty promises but we deliver. BN can change, no need to vote for DAP that asserts change,” he said.
He cautioned that any drastic change might jeopardise the prevailing harmony and progress since the opposition merely inherited what BN had contributed all these years.
Change must take place in a systematic way or there could be consequences, he said, adding that criticism