Govt Committed To Continuing With Regional Development Plan

August 04, 2009 15:49 PM

Govt Committed To Continuing With Regional Development Plan

PEKAN, Aug 4 (Bernama) -- Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said on Tuesday the government is committed to continuing with the regional development plan for the country.

The prime minister said that the development, which involved the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP) and 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP), would continue until 2020.

"Under the 9MP alone, the government has allocated an additional RM2 billion to carry out suitable projects," he said when opening the East Coast Economic Region Special Economic Zone (ECER SEZ) at the Agropolitan Town here.

He said regional development was not a new concept but had been practised by the country's second prime minsiter, the late Tun Abdul Razak Hussein, and modernised by Tun Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

"I want to express my aspiration, as Tun Abdullah's successor, for the corridor development concept to be enjoyed here now," he said.

Najib said the concept had a huge impact, especially in generating wealth which could be enjoyed equitably and comprehensively by all strata of the society in line with the country's development.

He also said that regional development was in keeping with the 1Malaysia concept which stressed social justice for all.

"The concept of regional development is not about a cluster which focuses on investors only but a concept centred on the people, people first, from large projects so that the ordinary folk can benefit," he said.

He said, for example, that the Agropolitan project could eradicate hardcore proverty among 45,000 households nationwide by the end of next year.

-- BERNAMA