KUANTAN: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim instructed all ministers and Chief Secretary to the Government (KSN) to take their responsibilities seriously in monitoring the condition of villages across the country to further enhance the wellbeing of the villagers.
He said the directive also applies to all secretaries-general (KSU) of ministries and senior government officials.
Anwar said the directive does not mean that they have to conduct daily monitoring, but rather to check in once a month or every two months to ensure that village development is not neglected, as development cannot focus solely on urban areas.
“Yes, the Government has its machinery, but sometimes the messages are not delivered. That’s why through this Kampung Angkat Madani programme, all ministers, including the PM, KSN, KSU, as well as senior government officials must adopt a village, either their own or any other.
“Why? Because everybody has their own theories about the economy, social issues, health, education, etc., but how do we measure the success of government’s initiatives for the grassroots if they didn’t go to the ground?” he said when launching the launch of national-level Kampung Angkat Madani2024 programme at Kampung Chengal Lempong, Balok, here, Saturday.
Also present were KSN Tan Sri Mohd Zuki Ali and Deputy Minister of Domestic Trade and Cost of Living Fuziah Salleh.
Anwar said he personally had been visiting his adopted village in Cherok Tok Kun, Penang, for the past few months and held meetings to understand the issues in the village.
“I was born in Sungai Bakap, but at the age of five, I moved to Bukit Mertajam and Cherok Tok Kun. I grew up in Cherok Tok Kun, so I chose Cherok Tok Kun. I even called the imam, the headmaster and teachers to look into school dropout issues to learn why a student stopped attending school,” he said.
