By BORNEOTODAY
KOTA MARUDU: Major allocations for huge development projects in Sabah shows that the Prime Minister has a soft heart for east Malaysians.
“He (Najib Razak) is the most caring prime minister ever,” said Dr Maximus Ongkili, the Member of Parliament here, Thursday.
Ongkili who is also the Energy, Green Technology and Water minister said the increased allocation for basic infrastructures such as roads, water, health, rural homes and especially education is evidence to the nation’s Number One leader’s sincerity in narrowing the development gap between East and West Malaysia.
“Our school children continue to enjoy assistance like free uniforms and shoes, even education aid like KWAMP (Kumpulan Wang Amanah Pelajar Miskin), the RM100 cash aid for students and Siswa 1Malaysia, to mention some, are meant to ease parents burden on the additional expenses at the start of the new school term,” he said in a statement.
Ongkili said this after distributing the RM100 education aid to 697 pupils in three schools here, namely Sekolah Kebangsaan Tigaman, Sekolah Kebangsaan Mangaris and Sekolah Kebangsaan Tagaroh here, on Thursday.
He noted that while parents here have the luxury to various education aid, their counterparts in other developing countries are forced to pay almost the full fees education costs.
In addition, he said Najib had announced an unprecedented allocation of RM1 billion this year for developing and upgrading schools in Sabah and Sarawak.
“Under the first phase of the programme, 107 rural schools have been selected and about half a billion has been allocated to either repair and rebuild dilapidated schools, construction of new classrooms, as well as upgrading sewerage system, among others,” he said.
He, meanwhile, urged parents and teachers to work closely together with the schools to ensure the school children are properly guided to pursue excellence and strive for excellence in their educational pursuits.
“Parents, teachers, civil servants and other professions are here where we are now because we had good grounding in recognising the importance of education.
“This education aid had somehow created positive vibes on the children and the improving examination results are evidence to its effectiveness.
“Remember, the sky’s the limit when it comes to succeeding in education,” said Ongkili.
On top of that, other development projects, including the mega Pan Borneo Highway, are currently on-going to bridge the gap between Sabah, Sarawak and Peninsular Malaysia.
“This is a reflection of the Prime Minister’s sincerity and full commitment to make sure the development in both Sabah and Sarawak would catch up with the peninsula.
“Unlike Dr Mahathir Mohamad, the former prime minister who was more focus in arresting and sending is to jail under the then Internal Security Act (ISA) for being vocal against the mistreatment in respect to Sabah and Sarawak.
“He hardly did anything to stamp out the flooding of illegal immigrants to Sabah, which has now become our biggest problem.
