BATU DANAU: 1Malaysia is a concept calling for the participation of people of different racial and religious backgrounds in national harmony and unity.
FASCINATING: Muhyiddin (right) checking out the rich cultural heritage of the Bisaya community at the exhibition, as Jabu (left), Awang Tengah (fourth left) and others look on.
Giving his ringing endorsement of the concept spearheaded by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Mohd Yassin said it was the BN government’s way of ensuring balanced development between urban and rural areas.
“The concept of 1Malaysia as espoused by the prime minister is for everyone wherever they are, whether in Sabah, Sarawak or Semenanjung Malaysia, majority or minority, for as long as they are Malaysians, they would be given fair share of the development and benefits,” he said.
The deputy prime minister said this at the meet-the-people session cum earth-breaking ceremony of Bisaya Cultural Centre in Batu Danau yesterday, following a visit to Tedungan CIQ at the Malaysian side of the border with Brunei Darussalam.
He was accompanied by Deputy Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Alfred Jabu, Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hasan and his wife Datuk Dayang Morliah Datuk Awang Daud, Federal Secretary to Sarawak Datuk Md Yahya Basimin, deputy director-general of Ministry of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Yusoff Dohan, members of parliament and state assemblymen.
Apologising for the late arrival at the venue at about 6pm, he expressed his gratitude for being able to be in Batu Danau, following a postponement earlier last month.
He was earlier on in Labuan after attending a cabinet meeting in Putrajaya before arriving in Limbang CIQ Complex by Black Hawk military helicopter after a heavy downpour.
According to him, rural development and generation of income was the top agenda under the government’ National Key Result Areas (NKRAs) as the prime minister believed that progress should be shared by all Malaysians, whether they were in towns, suburbs or rural areas.
He also pledged that BN would continue its rural development drive vigorously to bring about much-needed changes to meet the aspirations of the people, saying he understood the needs of rural people, and that under NKRA the government was taking a closer look at their needs for basic infrastructures and amenities.
At the same time, he called on Sarawakians to uphold the spirit of racial and religious harmony as the state was ahead in racial relations in the country.
He also took the opportunity to wish Christians in Batu Danau and throughout the country a Merry Christmas and a Happy New Year.
Among those at the function were top officials from Ministry of Education, Ministry of Rural and Regional Development and other government departments and agencies.
Muhyiddin later attended a meet-the-people dinner gathering at Limbang Civic Centre, to be followed by a walk-about at Limbang Tamu and the Education Ministry’s Open Day at Golden Jubilee Waterfront Esplanade this morning.
From there, he will proceed to another meet-the-people gathering at Lawas Indoor Stadium and visit SMK Lawas and SK Awat Awat in Lawas before flying to Labuan today.