The Star Online: Metro: South & East
The Star Online: Metro: South & East |
- Pekan is now recognised for its rising automotive industry
- Extra funding for students in Egypt
- Give support to Govt for better future, says Lau
| Pekan is now recognised for its rising automotive industry Posted: 25 Mar 2013 06:52 PM PDT PEKAN: Things are looking bright in the royal town of Pekan especially when the MP is the Prime Minister himself. After Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak took over the helm as supremo of Malaysia, his constituency had seen a flurry of progress, much to the benefit of its residents. The fourth largest district in Pahang, which was once known as a trade centre and a producer of gold and tin, was now recognised for its fast-rising automotive industry. Vehicles assembly plants could be seen lining the road to the town in what was designated as the Pekan Automotive Park. According to the East Coast Economic Region Development Council (ECERDC), the park was envisioned to become a national and regional hub for car assembly, manufacturing of automotive parts and components, as well as automotive R&D activities. Some RM4.5bil was expected to be generated in investments throughout its three stages of development, with a total of 10,580 jobs to be created. It was expected to contribute RM12bil to the Gross National Income by 2015. Najib had said the establishment of the Pekan Automotive Park was in line with the National Automotive Policy (NAP) which would foster a more competitive market for local and international companies. To date, the park had attracted well-known automotive players including Isuzu Hicom Malaysia, Drb-Hicom Defense Technologies (Deftech), Mercedes-Benz Malaysia and Suzuki, among others, with DRB-Hicom Berhad being the anchor tenant in the Park. The DRB-Hicom Group had also set up the International College of Automotive (Icam) to train up human capital for the automotive companies in the park. March last year saw the first locally assembled Volkswagen Passat leave the line in what was described as a milestone in the history of the nation's automotive industry. Pekan was also the site for the agropolitan project established to eradicate hardcore poverty and accelerate the development in rural areas. The dorper sheep rearing project had received great response from the orang asli community in Runchang, with each participant now having a steady income of RM750 a month as long as they work five hours a day. While Pekan is rich with history, its tourism had suffered throughout the years with the temporary closure of the Sultan Abu Bakar Museum. The number of tourists visiting the royal town had taken a massive dive from 56,502 in 2007 to 16,045 in 2009. To revive tourism activities in the town, the ECERDC had begun the Pekan Heritage Waterfront project. The project consisted of the upgrading of the museum and Jalan Sultan Ahmad as well as the construction of kiosks for traders of traditional products. A modern food court, as well as a marketing and exhibition complex for small to medium-sized enterprises would also be built and were expected to be completed in the fourth quarter of 2013. All these are expected to raise visitor arrivals to Pekan to 700,000 per annum by year 2020 and create some 935 new jobs. The project had culminated with the recent reopening of the Sultan Abu Bakar Museum by the Sultan of Pahang Sultan Ahmad Shah. For future plans, the ECERDC had proposed to refurbish and upgrade the nearby Sultan Abdullah Mosque to turn it into an Islamic museum in order to maintain the mosque's legacy. Other places of attraction in Pekan include Istana Abu Bakar, the Royal Pahang Polo Club field, the birth house of second Prime Minister Tun Abdul Razak and the Royal Mausoleum. Pekan, which means "small town" in Malay, was now connected to Kuantan via a new dual carriageway, making travel between the districts a much breezier affair compared to the old days. A Universiti Malaysia Pahang campus and a community college were also located in Pekan while new developments include the construction of a four-star hotel. Residents interviewed by Star Metro only had words of praise for Najib, whom they felt had contributed a lot to the development of the constituency. Retiree Mohd Saudi Musa, 52, said while the town had seen swift development, it still managed to retain its easy-going charm which made it an ideal place to live in. "There have been a lot of changes. We have new schools and also a university. The people of Pekan are really satisfied with the comfortable lifestyle this town has to offer. "Of course, it is all thanks to Najib who is always concerned about our welfare. We want to see continued development under the leadership of the Prime Minister who is our very own MP," he said. Fruits trader Nai Yau Juu, 57, hoped the projects would keep on coming as it means the economy of the town would continue to grow. "I wish Najib will go on being the Prime Minister. Things would have been very different if he was not our MP. As long as there are projects, investors will come in and we will have business," he said. Nai only had minor complaints such as the low water pressure and a lack of parking space in the town. For fisherman Abu Karim Salleh, 65, Pekan's transformation from a rural settlement into a modern town was all thanks to Najib. "I am very proud and thankful to our Prime Minister. In this past four years, he has managed to bring about rapid transformation, turning Pekan into a very sophisticated living place," said the father-of-eight, who received a new home recently under the integrated housing project in Kuala Pahang. Retired teacher Au Eng, 60, echoed Abu Karim's view, saying that living standards were much better compared to days of past. "For example, where I live now, Najib has just launched a Rural Transformation Centre which makes our lives easier when dealing with government agencies," he said. Pekan consists of four state seats namely Bebar, Chini, Pulau Manis and Peramu Jaya. They are all currently held by Barisan assemblymen. The constituency had 79,721 registered voters as of Nov 27 last year. |
| Extra funding for students in Egypt Posted: 25 Mar 2013 06:36 PM PDT JERANTUT: Due to the rise in the cost of living in Egypt because of the political turmoil there, the Pahang Government has decided to increase the study allowances for its students studying there. However, the increase in amount has yet to be finalised. Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob said the state's 130 students who are still studying in medical and Islamic studies in the universities in Egypt have been receiving a RM6,000 per year. This amount however, was no longer adequate with the rising cost of living there. Adnan said the political situation in the country had affected the students economically as the cost of basic necessities or esential items had gone up. He said that was the price which the Egyptians had to pay after they demanded for a change of government. "The people in this country can learn from the Egyptians that changing the Government will not necessarily bring advantages to the people at large. "The Opposition's quest to wrest the government in this country is just a sweet talk," Adnan said while officiating the "1Million Women Purple Walk" at the state-level held in Padang FA ground. The occasion was launched by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in Putrajaya which was shown live on TV. Some 10,000 people from all walks of life mainly women took part in the 1km walk from SM Indera Pura in Jalan Benta to the field led by the mentri besar. Adnan said the people should not be influenced by the promises made by the Opposition either in the social media or at ceramahs as most of the promises made were just political talk for the sake of the short-term interest. "The problems in Egypt have yet to be resolved until today. Egypt's economy is still uncertain," he said. Adnan said while we are enjoying the perks and benefits living in this peaceful and prosperous country, the people also have to be aware of the threats which they may not know and observed. "What happened in Lahad Datu is also a lesson for all of us that while we are enjoying the peace and order of our areas, we do not realise that there are certain people or groups who are jealous of what we are enjoying and are tempted to bring about disturbances. "They intruded our country while we are living in harmony," he said. Adnan said however, if the people unite, cooperate and help and respect each other, all negative elements could be avoided. |
| Give support to Govt for better future, says Lau Posted: 25 Mar 2013 03:24 PM PDT JERANTUT: The people should continue to support the Government to ensure continuous growth and progress for the country. Damak assemblyman Datuk Lau Lee said only Barisan Nasional could provide a better future to Malaysians of all races. "Under the leadership of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak, various initiatives were introduced to address weaknesses and other shortcomings. "For example, the economic transformation programmes have brought much changes to the daily lives of many people. "As such, there is no reason for us not to give a stronger mandate to the prime minister to carry out his plans and other forms of transformation in stages," he said. Lau, who is also the Jerantut MCA division chief, said most of the pledges by Barisan had been fulfilled for the benefit of the masses. He said as compared to the Opposition, their leaders were good at making empty promises for political expediency and to canvass for votes. "I hope the people would think wisely and give their support to Barisan which has proven to look after the wellbeing of all communities. "The prime minister has many plans in mind to further develop the country for the long term benefit of the rakyat in line with the 1Malaysia and people's first concepts," he said, citing various initiatives such as Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia, Klinik 1Malaysia and Kedai Rakyat 1Malaysia which had benefitted the poor and lower income groups. On the preparation of the coming general election, Lau said the party would work closely with other component parties to secure a higher majority for the coalition. He urged all component party members to give their undivided support to candidates nominated by the central leadership. Lau, 56, who has served four terms, is expected to defend his seat in the coming elections. In the 2008 general election, Lau polled 5,674 votes to defeat independent Koh Boon Heng and Mohd Nor Jaafar of PKR with a majority of 509 votes. |
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