Vote BN to maintain peace, harmony: DPM

Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin today spoke about "Malaysia then and now" to highlight Barisan Nasional's (BN) accomplishments, during his campaign to touch base with the Malay community here.

Speaking to more than 1,200 BN supporters in the Pasir Panjang state constituency, he said Malaysia has achieved all that it has today because of BN's efforts and urged the people not to forget the services of the government.

"The Opposition will always say that development in Malaysia is unfair and that it helps only one race and neglects others.

"You can see for yourselves whether the allegations hurled at the government are true," Muhyiddin said.

Stressing that Perak is one of the states in the country that has reduced its poverty rate, he said this could only be achieved under BN.

Pointing to the growing economy in the country, Muhyiddin compared how people lived 30 years ago to the living standards today.

"This is the reason all of you should vote for BN. All these years, people have lived comfortably and peacefully.

"Do you want to change this situation? Do you want a country with chaos and disharmony?" he asked.

Muhyiddin said the Opposition's cries for change (ubah) will not work, because the people are comfortable with what they have now.

NAJIB TUN RAZAK TO CONVENE MEETING TO FIND SOLUTION ON RECOGNITION OF UEC TO ENTER IPTA

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will soon convene a meeting with the Ministry of Education and Ministry of Higher Education to find a solution that will be acceptable to all on the recognition of Unified Examination Certificate (UEC) to enter local public higher learning institutions (IPTA).
In a joint statement by Najib tun Razak and United Chinese School Committees’ Association of Malaysia (Dong Zong), it said the meeting yesterday, among others had discussed on the issue concerning the recognition of the UEC which relates
to applications for entering IPTA.
“There was a discussion on requirement of students from Chinese medium schools to have at least a credit in Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) Bahasa Malaysia paper along with the UEC, as a condition for applying to IPTA.
“There was also discussion on the issue of accreditation to the UEC Bahasa Malaysia subject,” it said.
Yesterday, Najib Tun Razak met six representatives from Dong Zong at the Prime Minister’s Office at Kompleks Perdana Putra here.
Najib Tun Razak became the first prime minister to have met Dong Zong since it was established 59 years ago.
Dong Zong was led by its chairman, Dr Yap Sin Tian, deputy chairman Chow Siew Hon, vice chairmen Kho Hai Meng and Wang Toon Jui, secretary-general Poh Chin Chuan and treasurer Lim Kock Chai.
In the historic one-hour meeting, Najib and Dong Zong representatives also discussed and exchanged ideas on the betterment of Chinese education in Malaysia.
Meanwhile, Yap said Dong Zong was hoping to get some good news from the prime minister, however, there were some ‘technical problems’ on the accreditation of Bahasa Malaysia subject in UEC which need further discussion.
“We hope to get some good news soon… maybe before the general election,” he told reporters here yesterday. — Bernama

Najib woos federal agency workers with better perks

KUALA LUMPUR, March 25 ― The Najib Razak administration today moved to appease some 40,000 employees of federal agencies by agreeing to boost their benefits ahead of key national polls.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak announced today Putrajaya’s approval for a new pension fund, the provision of fixed allowances and gratuity for retirees, and the streamlining of Employees Provident Fund (EPF) contributions for all seven bodies, meaning employers’ contribution will be made commensurate with the duration of service.

“This is a government that hears the pulse of the people. We must put the people first,” Najib Razak said in his speech before some 2,000 statutory body employees at the Putra World Trade Centre here.

The move came after months of negotiations between Najib’s government and workers’ unions, which at one point threatened to back the opposition should Putrajaya fail to meet the demands made since 2008, according to an anonymous union leader.

The civil service is a key vote bank for the ruling BarisanNasional (BN) coalition, which is gearing up for what is set to be its toughest election to date.

Wary of a possible discontent within the public service, Najib Razak moved to placate the key voter group by agreeing to meet their demands for improved benefits as well as increasing pay.

But the prime minister was quick to dismiss suggestions that his government was adopting populist measures to sustain support from the civil servants, saying today’s announcement was done after careful consideration based on economic viability.

Najib Razak said populism was a tactic favoured only by the opposition, and argued that meeting the election pledges made by Pakatan Rakyat would bankrupt the country.

“If we take this populist attitude, giving everything without considering the importance of good governance, the country would descend into the valley of economic destruction,” he said.

The federal opposition bloc Pakatan Rakyat (PR) had in its election manifesto promised to increase salaries both in the public and private sectors through better management of the economy.

It also promised to continue subsidising fuel and basic goods, where BN announced plans to slash subsidies amid concerns of rising public debt; PR leaders insist their welfare programmes are viable if corruption is tackled.

Najib’s government had described PR’s pledges as unrealistic, unreasonable and populist. In turn, his administration was accused of courting voters through policies such as the cash handouts under the 1 Malaysia People’s Aid (BR1M) that cost more than RM1 billion public funds.

The BR1M programme had contributed significantly to the prime minister’s approval rating, according to a previous MerdekaCenter survey, and Najib had promised to make it an annual event should BN retain power.

Daim backs Najib Razak , rejects Anwar

KUALA LUMPUR: Former finance minister Tun Daim Zainuddin says Najib Tun Razak is doing a fairly good job and should be given the mandate to lead the country and continue with his transformation policies.

Urging voters to give Najib Razak the chance for five years, the Umno veteran said: “Test him. Give him the mandate. He is doing a fairly good job. Let’s see him deliver and continue with his transformation policies.”
In an interview with the New Sunday Times, Daim indicated his preference for Najib Razak to win instead of Anwar Ibrahim whom he deemed as not the right candidate to be the prime minister.

“If you ask me, between the two, Najib Razak or Anwar, I would choose Najib. I will give Najib the chance. Give him the mandate and see whether he delivers because Anwar has had his chances, but he blew them.
“I want Najib to win because I don’t think Anwar is the right candidate to be prime minister,” he said.

“I believe he will mess up the country by getting advice from the likes of the IMF (International Monetary Fund), World Bank and Wolfowitz (Paul Wolfowitz, former World Bank president),” he said.
Daim, who served as the finance minister from 1984 to 1991 and as the special functions minister in 1998 before being reappointed as the finance minister from 1999 to 2001, said it was dangerous if an opposition under Anwar was to lead the country.

“I am worried as he does not have the depth in economy, always needed people to tell him — what to think and what to do,” he said.
So far, he said, there had not been even one significant idea from Anwar as the economic advisor to the Selangor government. Worse, he said, Selangor had badly handled its water issue, which had dismayed developers, investors and the people.

“Why doesn’t he (Anwar) become economic advisor to Kelantan and Kedah if Pakatan believes he is good? Think seriously. Think of our future,” he said.
Reshuffle the cabinet

To a question that Anwar believed that he was destined to become the next prime minister, Daim said: “Well, destiny is an act of God. You can be only one heartbeat away from that post but man proposes, God disposes. I think God still loves Malaysia.”

Daim said he would support Najib Razak but the prime minister must fight corruption and crime, strengthen the nation’s security and review the education system.
He also said that Najib should reshuffle the cabinet.

“Bring in new faces. People think he is carrying too much deadwood in the cabinet. Most are already past their use-by date,” he said.
On the chances of the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the general election, Daim, whose prognosis was interestingly followed, said BN would win but there must be unity within the coalition.“Umno has about 3.3 million members, MCA, about one million and MIC, about 600,000. That’s already about half of the voters.

“Now, you only need some support from the fence-sitters, you should then be able to win. But BN must put new and clean candidates who are acceptable to voters,” he said.

Daim said that if the BN was not united, the opposition pact would do better, as what happened in 2008.
“Stay united, be loyal and don’t sabotage. We need a steady and experienced hand. Only BN has the experience.
“We have gone through crisis after crisis, and recovered very quickly. We have to tell the Chinese that we cannot experiment. Look at Japan. Look around us. Look at Britain. Study what is happening,” he said.
Daim said Anwar had repeatedly said that there would be an Arab Spring-like demonstration should the opposition lose in the next general election because of what they deem as “cheating”.
“He (Anwar) has set the stage to justify their losses if they lose in the next general election. Pakatan is prepping the people so that they can scapegoat the government and the Election Commission.
“First, we are not an Arab country. And second, if there was rigging in previous general elections, how did Pakatan win five states in 2008?
“Arab Spring has turned out to be an Arab Fall (for the lack of a unifying leadership and the instability it has induced),” he said.

WOMEN TO BE ‘EYES AND EARS OF GOVERNMENT’, SAYS NAJIB RAZAK

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak launched a women community group programme today to enable women to report crime and threats to national security.

The 1 Malaysia Perwani Community programme, which aims to set up 100,000 Perwani groups throughout Malaysia comprising 10 to 20 women each, will be linked to organisations like the Police Families Association (Perkep), the Malaysian Armed Forces Family Welfare Association (Bakat) and the Wives of Civil Servants and Women Civil Servants Association (Puspanita).

“The role of the Perwani group is to be the eyes and ears of the government in fighting crime and threats to national security,” said Najib Razak in a speech at the One Million Women Purple Walk event at Dataran Putrajaya here today.

“This can be achieved through current organisations like residents’ associations, Puspanita, Perkep, Bakat, Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia (AIM), the Congress of Unions of Employees in the Public and Civil Services (Cuepacs), and other NGOs like women’s and single mothers’ groups,” he added.

Najib Tun Razak also stressed to the crowd of thousands of women dressed in purple that the government wanted to empower women and include them in the mainstream of the country’s development process.

“In our struggle to realise our country’s vision, women play an important role,” he said at the event celebrating International Women’s Day 2013.

Najib Tun Razak  pointed out that 30 out of 62 High Court judges are women.

Najib Razak also urged government-linked corporations to appoint at least one woman in their boards.

However, the United Nations Development Programme’s (UNDP) latest Gender Inequality Index released last week showed that Malaysia ranked 42 out of 148 countries surveyed last year.

While Malaysia performed better than Thailand (66), the Philippines (77) and Indonesia (106), the country again trailed Singapore, which placed 13 in the chart that graded countries based on the level of women’s empowerment, their economic activity and their reproductive health.

While women make up half of Malaysia’s 13.1 million-strong registered voters, the UNDP noted that women formed only 13.2 per cent of the elected lawmakers in Parliament.

Political analysts and observers have said that women and young voters form a significant voting bloc that could decide which party wins the 13th general elections due just weeks away.

Najib Razak said today that women made up 62 per cent of university graduates.

The UNDP, however, reported last Friday that women comprised only 43.8 per cent of the Malaysian workforce, showing men still dominated the labour market.

According to the UNDP, 29 Malaysian women died from pregnancy-related problems for every 100,000 who delivered their babies safely.

The global theme for International Women’s Day this year is ending violence against women.

Domestic violence, however, has been on the rise in Malaysia for the past three years, from 3,173 cases in 2010 to 3,488 cases last year, based on police and government statistics provided by NGO Women’s Aid Organisation (WAO).

But rape has declined steadily over the years from 3,626 cases in 2009 to 2,998 cases in 2012.

Najib Razak : Govt has met most goals

KUALA LUMPUR: PRIME Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak said last night  the government has met the majority of its  goals under the National Transformation Programme, and is  on track to meet its goal of becoming a high-income nation earlier than 2020.

Announcing the results of the government's report card for last year in the form of the Economic Transformation Programme (ETP) and Government Transformation Plan (GTP), he said the achievements were proof of the government's dedication to the 1Malaysia philosophy of "People First, Performance Now".

Najib Razak described ETP and GTP as "the bravest experiment undertaken by any government in the world to practise the principles of transparency and responsibility"."The task to become a high-income nation by 2020 is ambitious, but attainable."With this transformation agenda, I am responsible for its success and am bound by its results."I want to help Malaysia realise its exceptional potential," he told the audience at Auditorium Perdana at Angkasapuri.

Najib Razak said initiatives taken to boost the living standards of low-income households had lowered the poverty rate to 1.7 per cent last year from 3.8 per cent in 2009.The income gap narrowed to 0.431 as per the Gini coefficient ratio (a measure of inequality of income or wealth) last year, compared with 0.441 in 2009.A lower Gini coefficient ratio equates to a more equal distribution of wealth, with "0" corresponding to complete equality.

The country's per capita income last year, he said, stood at US$9,970 (RM31,131), compared with US$257 (RM802) in 1957, which is a 4,000 per cent leap in five decades.

In addition, the average household income last year stood at RM5,000, a jump from RM4,025 in 2009.

The construction of 35,000 new homes had also enabled more medium- and low-income families to own their own properties.

The efforts by the government had resulted in 99.9 per cent of households from the extreme poor category moving out of the bracket over the last three years.

"As part of our initiative to ensure that rural communities share in the country's progress, more than 3,300km of roads have been built, more than 1.4 million homes provided with clean water and 470,000 homes enjoy round-the-clock electricity supply."

The government's stand on the importance of early education, he said, had seen more than 2,000 preschool classes established, leading to a more than 80 per cent pre-school enrolment last year compared with 67 per cent the previous year.Touching on the ETP, he said it had continued to meet its targets, with RM32 billion in investments secured via 39 projects last year.

"Since the ETP's launch in 2010, private investment has grown more than three-fold, recording a 22 per cent increase in 2012."

The ETP had since announced 149 projects, worth RM211 billion in investments, and is projected to add another RM136 billion to the gross national income and create 408,443 jobs.

Najib Razak said in line with the government's stand on transparency, the results had been subject to review and verification by international experts on the International Performance Review Panel and auditing house PricewaterhouseCoopers Malaysia.

"What we have achieved, and failed to achieve, is on display for everyone to see."

Najib Razak reiterated that the Barisan Nasional government was one that kept its promises.

"We place the people's wellbeing above all else.

"That is why before promising something to the people, we study it first as to whether it will benefit the people and not burden them, whether it is temporary or for the long term.

"Secondly, we ask ourselves, is this promise something we can keep? We do not make empty promises."

Najib Tun Razak: Govt committed to continue empowering women

PUTRAJAYA: The government is committed to continue empowering women in the country towards ensuring their full potential can be realised and enhanced, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

Najib Razak said the government not only recognised their importance but had included them in mainstream development and in transforming the country.

"In our history... in the struggle for independence... in our struggle after independence...in our struggle to achieve the nation's vision...women played an important role towards achieving the aspirations and goals of the country.

"That is why we are gathered here today, to trigger waves among women, so that women come forward and in turn raise the spirit, that national aspirations cannot be achieved without the empowerment of women throughout the country," Najib Razak said when launching the 1 Million Women Purple Walk 2013, here .

Also present were the Prime Minister's wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and wife Puan Sri Norainee Abdul Rahman, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein, Information, Communications and Culture Minister Datuk Seri Dr Rais Yatim and Chief Secretary to the Government Datuk Seri Dr Ali Hamsa.

The Prime Minister  Najib Razak said that as a result of the government's efforts over the years, many successes had been achieved by women, for example in the field of education.

"In higher education centres, why is that 62 per cent of the enrolment comprise female students ... this is due to their having the qualifications, "he said.  
He also said that the government would continue with its policy of having 30 per cent of women employed at the decision-making level.

"Now 30 of the 62 High Court judges are women, of the secretaries-general in ministries, seven of them are women with the latest being in the Ministry of Health," he said.

Najib Razak also said he wanted government-linked companies (GLCs) and government-linked investment companies (GLICs) appoint at least one woman or more to their boards.

"The national transformation policy will not be achieved if women are not given equal opportunities, not empowered and included in the mainstream, not only at the highest level but also at the grassroots," Najib Razak said.

Negeri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan launched the state level 1Million Women Purple Walk 2013 with almost 10,000 in attendance in the Sports and Youth Complex in Paroi. -- Bernama