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Najib: Umno will not claim leadership in Penang

Posted: 15 Oct 2011 09:57 PM PDT

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak today assured Gerakan that Umno will not claim the state leadership in Penang if the Barisan Nasional (BN) is given the mandate to rule the state in the next general election.

Addressing Gerakan's 40th National Delegates Conference at Menara PGRM here, Najib, who is BN chairman and Umno president, said he believed that there is still hope for the BN to recapture the state.

He said Umno is prepared to work together with the other BN component parties to wrest back the state.

"Umno will never claim the state leadership in Penang. We are prepared to work together with component parties in Penang.

"Gerakan, MCA, MIC and Umno must work together as one family. We must be part of the solution, not part of the problem. We must do that. If we work together, I am not going to give up on Penang," he told the 2,200 delegates when opening the conference.

Najib stressed that the BN must convince the people that it is the better choice for them.

"Some say that there is no hope (for the BN) in Penang. No. We must work hard, prove to them that we are the better choice compared to the opposition. This is about democracy; this is about choice.

"We must give the people a choice. We must show them that we are the better choice for them in Penang and for the people of Malaysia," he said.

Penang is now administered by the DAP-PKR-PAS pact which won the state in the general election in 2008.

Najib said he has already discussed the matter with Penang Umno Liaison Committee Chairman Datuk Zainal Abidin Osman.

At a news conference later, when asked whether Gerakan would lead Penang if BN were given the mandate to rule the state, Najib said he had to discuss the matter first with other BN component parties.

"BN will come up with our position later on. But it will not be an Umno candidate," he said.

When addressing the delegates, Najib said he could sense the upbeat mood among the delegates and expressed the hope that the mood reflected their spirit to face the next general election.

The prime minister said he wanted Gerakan to "rise to the challenge" and return to its glory days.

He said Gerakan should focus more on the future instead of reminiscing the past.

"The past is the past. What happens now is about the future, near future. We want Gerakan to recover and be a force to be reckoned with in the context of national politics," he said.

In order to recover, Najib stressed, there was a need to present an alternative plan and line-up, particularly for Penang.

Although there would be painful and difficult choices to be made, he reminded Gerakan that the choice "not to do anything" was a lot worse.
"If you want to walk the talk, be bold. Take the high moral ground. Be prepared to walk the talk. It's the only way Gerakan can survive as a political party," he said.

When asked at the news conference about Wanita Gerakan chief Datuk Tan Lian Hoe's call for Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon not to contest in the next general election, Najib said he would leave it to Dr Koh to decide on that.

"We have been discussing what needs to be done. I leave it in his good hands. He knows what needs to be done," the prime minister said. -- BERNAMA

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DPM: RM100 school aid may be paid in December

Posted: 15 Oct 2011 05:08 PM PDT

2011/10/16
By Patrick Sennyah
news@nst.com.my

Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin and Negri Sembilan Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamad Hasan (left) sharing a light moment with A.Maniamah, 79, and her family members during their visit to the Senawang 2 public housing scheme, near Seremban yesterday.

PORT DICKSON: The government will try to pay the RM100 schooling assistance announced in the 2012 Budget by December this year, Deputy Prime Minister, Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin said here, yesterday.

This was to ease the burden of parents, especially those with many school-going children, he said.

"We were initially supposed to make the payment in January. However, I met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak on Friday and told him the money would be useful for parents to purchase school uniforms, bags and other necessities.

"The ministries of finance and education will work out the details and we will do our best to make the payments to 5.3 million school-going children in December," he said before handing out land ownership documents and aid to residents of Kampung Paya, here.

Muhyiddin, who is also Education Minister, said the schooling assistance would cost the government more than RM500 million.

He said all payments would be made in cash and through the respective schools. However, students studying at private schools would not be eligible for the assistance.

In the 2012 Budget, Najib, who is also Finance Minister, announced that all primary and secondary students from Year One to Form Five nationwide would receive schooling assistance amounting to RM100 each.

Muhyiddin, who was in Negri Sembilan for a day-long visit, had earlier launched the Raja Melewar Sports Teachers' Training Institute in Seremban, which is the first of its kind in the country to train teachers to become coaches and technical officials.

Two other designated teachers' training institutes, the Perlis Teachers Training Institute and the Tun Abdul Razak Teachers' Training Institute in Sarawak were also simultaneously upgraded as Sports Teachers' Training Institutes during the launch.

Muhyiddin said the launch of the institutes were in line with the one student, one sport policy.

"Each student must participate in at least one sport in school. This would help them be more well-rounded, disciplined and self-confident, while also enhancing racial integration."

Muhyiddin also dismissed claims that the Education Ministry practiced favouritism when awarding recognition to certain schools and that it was based solely on a school's achievements.

"It is unfair to make these allegations when there is no proof. If anyone has proof that our system has been manipulated, then please give it to me and I will personally look into it."

He said his ministry would also look into a proposal that only students who attended 80 per cent of classes during the academic year be allowed to sit for the Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia. examinations.

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Kredit: www.nst.com.my

Sabtu, 15 Oktober 2011

NST Online: Topnews

NST Online: Topnews

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