Najib: Pulau Tuba folk will continue to enjoy development

Earlier, Najib said when he heard of the plight of the fishing community in Pulau Tuba in October 2012, he had immediately approved a special allocation for the submarine cable project.

Residents of Pulau Tuba were initially supplied electricity by three generator sets.

They frequently experienced blackouts because of the unreliability of electricity supply via such sets.

“This is indeed a special allocation as the government does not have an allocation for submarine cables.

“But we had to do something,” said Najib.

Najib said the government needed to ensure that its policies were fair and inclusive.

“Development should not be just for the cities and urban areas... It should include all.

“When we develop, we must ensure that every level of society gets to enjoy it.

“That is why the decision (for the submarine cable allocation) had to be made. If the people of Pulau Tuba are left behind, I would feel responsible,” he said.

Najib promised that the people of Pulau Tuba would continue to enjoy development, as would those of Langkawi and Kedah.

In November 2012, Najib had announced the submarine cable project in Pulau Tuba when he visited the island.

The project, which is connected to the national grid, was completed in 2015.

After the launch, Pulau Tuba residents sisters Che Puteh and Naizah Ali, said they were amazed that the prime minister had made the decision to allocate such a large sum of money just for the community.

And, they were equally amazed yesterday that even more was being done for them.

Naizah, 48, said life now was so much easier for the community.

“I was born and raised on this island. I have spent my entire life here.

“I lived here when we only had electricity between 8pm and 3am, using generators.

“Then we were given three generators, but the supply was still unreliable. There were cuts very often. Now all that has changed.”

Che Puteh, 50, agreed.

“Before this, we couldn’t use machines to wash our clothes... they were all handwashed.

“Now, we can have what everyone else on the big island (Langkawi) and the mainland consider a necessity,” she said, thanking Najib for the extra goodies he announced yesterday.