Nanta and Jamit attend Hari Raya gathering
KAPIT: Deputy Minister for Rural and Regional Development Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi who is also the MP for Kapit and Bukit Goram assemblyman Jefferson Jamit Unyat attended the ‘ Ramah Tamah Aidilfitri’ gathering that was jointly organised by the Kampung Baru village security and development committee ( JKKK) and Parti Pesaka Bumiputera Bersatu ( PBB) Kampung Baru branch at Dewan Masyarakat Melayu Kapit on Tuesday evening.
Activities held included a nasyid performance by the Muslim community of Kampung Baru, ‘ Baju Kurung’ and ‘ Baju Teluk Belanga’ competitions for children below 12 years old and 18 years old, presentation of ‘duit raya’ to senior citizens, less fortunate and children, and a fireworks display.
Earlier upon their arrival, Nanta and Jamit jointly launched the event by lighting fi reworks.
Nanta reminded those present not to get involved and bogged down by issues that do not benefit them locally.
“In a remote areas like Kapit, we don’t have to get tied up with issues that are not related to the local situation such as the prime minister’s alleged corruption case as there are other local issues we need to address together especially that involves local development and development programmes that benefit us,” Nanta said.
He pointed out that under the current leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, Kapit in particular has undergone tremendous changes.
“Now we have road access that is almost complete to link Kapit to the rest of the state. Meanwhile there are other programmes introduced by Najib that benefited the people like BR1M (1Malaysia People’s Aid), e- Kasih, housing aid ( Projek Bantuan Rumah) and many others. Why under former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and former deputy prime minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim did they not think of giving such assistance to the people?” Nanta queried.
The four-term elected representative pointed out that the allocation for each MP during Mahathir’s time was RM350,000 for all projects.
“Comparatively now each project costs more than RM1 million and under the ‘ Mesra Rakyat’ programme, each MP is allocated RM6 million and also RM1.5 million for special development, whereas the Rural Transformation Programme ( RTP) allocation under Najib is RM5 million compared to RM150,000 before,” he pointed out.
“As elected representatives, we felt that our present leadership of both the prime minister and our chief minister, even previously under the late Tok Nan ( Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem), are truly people- centric leaders who care about the people, especially in rural areas. In politics, we support the leadership which cares for and supports the people,” Nanta said.
Meanwhile, Jamit who also spoke at the function called on the people to rally their support behind Barisan Nasional ( BN) leaders especially during the coming 14th general election (GE14).
“Our current MP Datuk Alexander has performed well over the years and he is our choice of candidate in the coming general election.
“We still need more development thus we need continuity in our leadership. Strong support from the people will help ensure the continuity of his leadership and it is our hope he can have a better post (full minister) in the federal cabinet,” he said.
On the celebration, Jamit said each festive season is a celebration for all communities as it is celebrated by all multiracial ethnic groups, depicting the spirit of 1Malaysia.