KANOWIT, April 29 – Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Shafie Apdal today stressed the importance of a strong mandate from the people to elect a very strong government in the May 5 general election.
“When we have a strong government, we can have the best security and a very strong economy where investors and tourists will gladly come.
“Thus it is very important too that the people realise this and give their strongest mandate to allow the Barisan Nasional government under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak to continue again,” he said at a meet-the-people session at the district`sports complex here.
Present were the BN candidate for Kanowit, Datuk Aaron Ago Dagang, and state Assistant Land Development Minister Datuk Gramong Juna. Shafie cited the example of Japan which used to be a leading economic power in Asia but had changed its government seven times in the last five years.
“Now it has lost its position to China which is now the top economy in Asia,” he said.
He said this was the inherent danger of changing the government as sought by the opposition in their “Ubah” (change the government) slogan for the election. Speaking to the media later, Shafie said the ministry had allocated about RM155 million to Kanowit for various infrastructure and amenities projects in recent years.
This was all the more reason for the people to support Aaron Dagang in the election so that they could get more, he added. On the much-awaited 110km Kapit-kanowit Road, he said the RM400million project was being built in stages and was now about 56 per cent completed.
The tender process had been done for the construction of the Nanga Entabai-Rantau Limau and Nanga Entabai-Engkamop Road projects in Julau for which the ministry had allocated RM84 million, he said.
BERNAMA
