Close ties with KL important: Musa
Published on: Thursday, October 27, 2016
Beaufort: The close ties and strong cooperation between the State and Federal governments play a vital role in ensuring the smooth implementation of development projects in Sabah.Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman said such rapport must be preserved as it has proven to have a positive impact and benefits not only to the wellbeing of the people in Sabah but also to the socio-economic prospects in the State.He said the close ties between the two governments also enable any request for developments in Sabah to be attended to.
ADVERTISEMENT
"The close ties between the State and Federal governments as well as the cooperation are important as funding for huge or mega development projects such as upgrading and opening roads come from the Federal."Like what Beaufort MP Datuk Azizah Mohd Dun mentioned in her speech that almost RM100 million in Federal funding has been spent to upgrade existing roads heading to this Mini Estet Sejahtera (Mesej) at Kg Montenior here whereby the participants and villagers now are able to enjoy smooth and good condition roads which facilitate their daily lives compared to before."That is why I emphasise the need to further strengthen and consolidate the ties between both sides for the interest and livelihood of the people, especially the rural communities," he said.Musa said this when launching the Mesej Kg Montenior for large-scale rubber cultivation, located about 12 kilometres from here, Wednesday.
ADVERTISEMENT
Also present were State Cabinet Ministers, Assistant Ministers, State Secretary Tan Sri Sukarti Wakiman, Director-General of Implementation and Coordination Unit (ICU) under the purview of the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Ahmad Zaki Anrose, Lumadan Assemblyman Datuk Kamarlin Ombi, Membakut Assemblyman Datuk Mohd Arifin Mohd Arif, permanent secretaries of State ministries, department directors and other senior officials.Due to existing close cooperation between the two governments, Musa said the huge or mega development projects would normally be funded by the Federal Government while other minor projects would be handled by the State.
ADVERTISEMENT
In this respect, he called on all local and Federal-level departments and agencies in Sabah to work hand in hand to ensure the aspiration of the people to benefit from physical developments could be enjoyed continuously.In fact, he said the close ties and relationship between the State and Federal have long existed which shows the Barisan Nasional (BN) government is always concerned about the needs of the people compared to the slogan "Sabah for Sabahans" which is being championed by certain leaders who have a personal agenda."The Federal Government is concerned with the development needs of Sabah and the people and this is reflected by the presence of the ICU Director-General Datuk Ahmad Zaki Ansone under the Prime Minister's Department who has come to join us for the opening of Mesej Montenior here."His presence is proof of the Federal Government's commitment to find out any problems and challenges faced by the people that need to be addressed immediately."He will brief and inform the Prime Minister on what types of development are needed by the people and so far, the Federal Government has been providing what we need. This is how the BN government works together with the State BN government to make sure the people's aspiration are fulfilled," he said.On Mesej Montenior, Musa, who is Finance Minister, said the State Government established Mesej for the people of Sabah who are listed in the e-Kasih database so as to bring them out of poverty."The State Government is sincere in helping the people of Sabah, especially those in the rural and interior areas who wish to further improve their living standard."Hence, we created Mesej for these people where they are provided with lands to work on and houses to live in plus enjoy electricity and clean water, apart from good roads and earn income from harvesting the commodity on the Mesej," he said.Towards this end, Musa called on the people of Sabah not to be easily influenced and misled by the mushrooming of new political parties that claim to be championing the rights, needs and interests of the people in Sabah."I believe that people are mature enough to make a wise assessment on these new political parties and be realistic as to whether these parties have the capacity and capabilities to deliver, like how the BN government has been proven to honour all its promises to the people all this while," he said.According to Musa, there are 52 Mesej programmes in Sabah as a State Government measure to eradicate poverty among the rural communities since it was introduced in 2003.Of the 52 Mesej, he said 34 are operating agriculture commodities, six doing aquaculture, nine are Micro Mesej and three integrated Mesej involving 2,500 participants who are heads of hardcore households in several districts across the State."The Mesej Montenior is an integrated effort as it involves Sabah Rubber Industry Board (LIGS) for supplying the rubber seedlings, Sabah Housing and Town Planning Authority (LPPB) for constructing the houses for the participants and Sabah Electricity Sdn Bhd (SESB) for supplying power and the District Office here to cater to other needs of the participants."The Mesej is being developed on over 100 hectares in two phases in Kg Montenior with the first phase involving 33 participants who have been provided with houses, electricity and water supply and another upcoming 33 participants whose houses are currently being constructed by LPPB and they will be enjoying the same facilities as the Phase 1 participants," Musa said.He also assured that the State Government will continue to carry out the same Mesej programme in other poverty-stricken areas as well as to enhance the quality of lives of the people in the rural areas.Earlier, Musa attended a closed-door briefing by the District Officer of Beaufort, Said Othman, on the development of the district and its sub-district Membakut at the district office.In the Mesej event, he disclosed that a new oil palm mill will be set up here soon to complement the existing two mills so that the oil palm smallholders here and nearby areas could sell their yields to the mills.Apart from this, Musa also visited a sewage treatment plant and attended a briefing by Public Works Department (PWD) Principal Assistant Director (Sewerage), Edward Lingkapo, on the progress of a Federal-funded construction of a sewage treatment plant at Padas Valley, which is ahead of schedule.PWD Sabah Director Datuk Amrumllah Kamal said the construction of the project began on Dec 25, 2015 and is expected to be completed in December 2018.Stay up-to-date by following Daily Express’s Telegram channel.
Daily Express Malaysia
