Only BN can ensure future of bumiputeras, rural community - Najib
MARAN, April 2 (Bernama) -- No quarters other than the Barisan Nasional can ensure the future of the Bumiputeras and the rural community including Felda settlers, said Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
Saying that the BN had helped nurture them all this while, the Prime Minister said the political opposition, which often raised certain issues to confuse the people and make them hate the government, was incapable of doing what the BN had done.
"No one else can champion the rural community; the matter is not in their (opposition) manifesto. I noticed that the opposition manifesto mentioned Bumiputeras in Item 30, not Item 1, 5, 10 or 20, but 30.
"Their manifesto also did not clearly mention rural development or the development of Felda," he said at a meeting with Felda settlers in the Jengka state constituency at Felda Jengka 11, Bandar Tun Abdul Razak, here today.
Najib said the government struggle to develop the Bumiputera and Felda agendas had been through various moments and periods since the land development authority was established by his father, second prime minister the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, more than 50 years ago.
The Prime Minister said Tun Razak had initiated the idea of the land scheme and opened up much land for development and the scheme had undergone much change over the years to benefit the settlers.
He said the land scheme would benefit a great deal under his administration, like the East Coast Rail Link project that would link the Klang Valley to the states in the east coast of the peninsula.
"Although the ECRL will not pass through Felda Jengka, it will go through nearby areas such as Mentakab and Temerloh up to Kuantan, meaning that upon completion of the project Pahang will see a rise in its growth rate by 1.5 per cent.
"The ECRL will provide jobs for our children. Contractors will get projects, traders will benefit and the value of land will rise because people will buy houses in Mentakab and Bandar Tun Razak but work in the Klang Valley. This is our vision, " he said.
However, some people did not believe this could be realised, he said, adding that one of them was a 93-year-old man (in an apparent reference to Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad) who had said that the political opposition would cancel the project if it came to power after the general election.
Najib said that if the ECRL project was cancelled, it would be a total loss for the people of Pahang and might anger the Chinese government which was also involved in the project.
"If China is angry with us and does not buy our palm oil, whom do we sell that palm oil to? When the price of palm oil drops drastically due to this, who will suffer."
"Do not trust the opposition. They cheat, like in Selangor where the leaders get the votes and the people get pails because of the water problem, " he said to the applause of the gathering.
The Prime Minister also announced several matters which will benefit the Felda settlers, among them a temporary suspension of the deduction of the Retention Fund of Felda settlers until Aidilfitri.
He also said that the government would provide 666 units of housing lots for the second generation of Felda settlers in the Kuala Krau parliamentary constituency and provide an allocation of RM10 million to upgrade the Jengka Hospital.
--- BERNAMA
