Najib outlines government successes through transformation
PUTRAJAYA, April 6 (Bernama) -- The government has indeed implemented an inclusive and comprehensive transformation which has yielded at least seven successes for the people and country since 2009, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
He outlined the seven successes in his special address when announcing the dissolution of the 13th Parliament at Perdana Putra here today.
The successes, he said, included being a trustworthy government, as well as one that fulfilled its promises.
"I believe that politics is not merely about making promises. In fact, more important than that, politics is actually walking the talk and the ability to fulfill the promises made to the people," he said.
Sharing the achievements of the Barisan Nasional Government Pledge, Najib said the government had fulfilled 99.4 per cent of its promises until Feb 28 this year.
Najib also shared the government's success in ensuring Malaysia's economy continued to be stable and sustainable.
He said although Malaysia's economy contracted to negative 1.5 per cent when he took over the country's leadership, the country was able to to go through the economic crisis and the world' economic turmoil well and systematically.
This, he said, was proven with the country's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) recording an economic growth of 5.9 per cent lat year, which was among the highest in the world.
"This refutes allegations by irresponsible quarters that Malaysia is going to be a bankrupt country, "he said.
Sharing the success in raising the people's income and employment opportunities, Najib said the government had carried out various initiatives to increase the people's income to commensurate with the current cost of living and for all the people to have jobs.
He referred to the implementation of the National Minimum Salary in 2016 which was increased to RM1,000 a month in the peninsula and RM920 for Sabah and Sarawak.
The government, he said, had also succeeded in creating 2.26 million new employment opportunities, which almost met the target of 3.3 million by 2020, for Malaysians.
In fact, last March 28, a government owned by the Saudi Arabian government, Aramco, injected US$7 billion (nearly RM30 billion) in investment in Malaysia, he said, adding that the investment would further stimulate the country's economic growth and create more employment opportunities for Malaysians,.
On the implementation of infra-people development , such as the first phase of the MRT project, he said, the project created history for completion earlier than scheduled that it saved RM2 billion.
The government is also in the midst of realising the High Speed Rail (HSR) project between Kuala Lumpur and Singapore, as well as the toll-free Pan Borneo Expressway, stretching more than 2,000 kilometres in Sabah and Sarawak, that would certainly be the game changer, and also open and generate more economic activities for the local residents, he added.
"So, having witnessed the various government initiatives and projects that have benefited the people, why are there still quarters not happy and continue to accuse us of being a failed government," he said.
On the government's success in improving the people's well-being, Najib said the government was fully aware of the challenges facing the people and had introduced various initiatives to ease their burden.
He said they included aid for those in need, especially the B40 group, such as the 1Malaysia People's Aid (BR1M), 1Malaysia People's Shop 2.0 which offers prices of goods at lower than market price, the Urabn Transformation Centre (UTC) and the Rural Transformation Centre (RTC), special aid for farmers, fishermen, smallholders, mosque officials and also civil servants.
"The government also provides health service for only a fee of RM1 at government hospitals," he added.
On education, Najib said the government provided free-education from pre-school to secondary school level and for students entering public universities, almost 90 per cent of their students were borne by the government.
"To shorten it, people from almost all walks of life in the country have enjoyed the benefits and from policies introduced by the current government," he said.
Najib, in his speech, also shared the government's success in utilising the Maqasid Syariah framework in the country's development and policies, although it was not stated in the country's official documents.
An example is the introduction of the National Wastiyyah Policy, he said, adding that the concept of wasatiyyah or moderation propagated by the government was recognised by many foreign leaders and countries.
-- BERNAMA
