Kedah fishing village accords Najib warm welcome

KUALA KEDAH: The fishing village of Kampung Seberang Kota accorded a warm welcome for Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak who made a visit yesterday to meet fishermen, farmers and livestock breeders there.

“Thank you for the warm welcome. I hope our relationship will be a long-lasting one. I am determined to keep Kuala Kedah progressive under the leadership of the Barisan Nasional government,” the Prime Minister said at the Seberang Kota fishermen’s market here.

Najib savoured various kinds of village traditional food hardly available in Kuala Lumpur or Putrajaya, and chatted with the stall-holders and customers at the market.

Rasyida Mohd Nor, 38, owner of the Paklong Stall at the market, described Najib’s visit as a historic one for her as she was able to prepare many kinds of traditional food for the Prime Minister.

“When I came to know that our Prime Minister was visiting my stall, I was elated. I made all the preparations over the past three days and made sure that everything was just right to be served to our Prime Minister, for example ‘ pulut sambai’ (glutinous rice with chilli paste), ‘ pulut ikan masin’ (glutinous rice with salted fish), ‘peknga’ (pancake) and tea,” she told Bernama.

Trader Ku Norhafizah Ku Ismail, 36, said she was excited over the prospect of meeting the country’s No. 1 leader in person.

“I hope our Prime Minister will be able to make arrangements to provide better amenities for the people here after his visit,” she said.

Farmer Ahmad Saad, 67, of Kampung Telok Talipon, said he was thankful to the Prime Minister for having announced financial allocations for fishermen, farmers and livestock breeders in Budget 2018.

Fisherman Saad, 57, said Kamarudin the RM300 which he receives from the government was highly appreciated but hoped that the monthly allowance could be increased in view of the rising cost of living.

Najib, when tabling Budget 2018 in Parliament last Friday, announced that for the first time in the history of the nation’s budget, a large allocation of RM6.5 billion was being provided to assist farmers, fishermen, smallholders and rubber tappers. — Bernama