Nationwide tour to hear and solve people’s woes, says Najib
By Vanes Devindran and Yu Ji, The Star
KUCHING: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak and his deputy Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin have begun their nationwide tour to meet the people.
They made their first stop here yesterday and then visited Serian, about 40km from the city centre.
“These trips are not just ceremonial,” Najib told reporters at the Kuching International Airport.
“The trips are aimed at understanding the people’s problems, and whenever possible, to solve problems at the grassroots level.
“I visited three areas today and I thought the mood was good. The Chief Minister tells me the same. Support for Barisan Nasional is good.”
He also said the nationwide tour was to ensure that the Barisan machinery was running smoothly.
His trip yesterday was packed. He flew in a helicopter to two semi-rural areas; toured a decades-old residential and commercial estate; met thousands of locals; and held a press conference at the airport.
Upon arrival in the morning, Najib also attended a gathering with his Facebook fans, where he answered questions on matters like his favourite book and growing up in a political family.
At a separate press conference, Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein said this would be the first and last stop that Najib and Muhyiddin would be making together during the tour.
After this, he said, they would go separately to meet the people.
“The Prime Minister will go to Johor on March 26 while the Deputy Prime Minister will be in Selangor on March 29,” he said.
Hishammuddin said next month’s travel plan had been arranged but another meeting would be chaired by Defence Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to review feedback from the ground.
“We are going to the ground to listen to the people and we have to coordinate and ensure that whatever we have promised is fulfilled.
“This shows how serious the Prime Minister is with what he had promised, and he’s looking at bottlenecks,” he said.
He said this was also what Najib would expect from all elected representatives.
