Jaziri greets party leaders and members during the announcement. – Photo by Muhammad Rais Sanusi
KUCHING: Jaziri Alkaf A. Suffian is now the Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia (Bersatu) Sarawak chairman.
The announcement was made by a Bersatu national leader during a dialogue session held in conjunction with the ‘Berambeh Bersatu Sarawak 2019’ programme today.
Prime Minister and Bersatu national chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad launched the programme at Pullman Hotel here.
An architect by profession, Jaziri, 41, from Kpg Muhibbah is also state Bersatu Santubong division chief.
The dialogue revealed that the appointment of Jaziri was decided during a party meeting on Aug 29.
In responding to questions posed at the session, Dr Mahathir said party leadership was not decided through election but appointment.
He said Bersatu was set up not based on ideology but the struggle for all Malaysians that the party believed in.
“We want to develop the nation with certain visions. Among them is the ‘Shared Prosperity’ policy.”
The prime minister said the government would go all-out to implement the latest policy to ensure that everyone in the country would enjoy prosperity.
When a member appealed to him to help Bumiputeras economically in Sarawak, Dr Mahathir said: “This is why we have the ‘Shared Prosperity’ policy to ensure that all can catch up.”
In a response to another request on not forgetting the Dayaks in Sarawak, he said the government did not discriminate any ethnic groups in the country.
Under the ‘Shared Prosperity’ policy, he said people irrespective of their ethnic groups would be given the opportunity to grow and prosper.
“They need to grab the opportunity to enhance their knowledge and skills. Our hope is to bridge the gap of lifestyles among the races.
“The Orang Asli are even more left out compared to the ethnic groups in Sarawak and Sabah,” he added.
Dr Mahathir stressed that the government offered fair treatment to all in the country.
“We do not discriminate but we know some people are mor advance than others. People who are more advance, they can help themselves. Those who are behind, we need to give attention.”
He added that it was important for those who fell behind to upgrade their capability so that they would be able to make use of the opportunity to progress.