JASIN, March 20 ― The Sungai Rambai sub-district has a great potential to become a new growth centre in the state of Melaka as the area had been properly developed, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak.

Now, he said, the sub-district has the capability to generate its own economic activity including minor industries, commerce and the tourism industry.

"This shows that if in 1972 the late Tun (Abdul Razak) came to visit, it was a remote area, today it (Sungai Rambai) has become a growth centre that the people can be proud of,” he said at the ceremony to declare Sungai Rambai as a sub-district, at the Sungai Rambai Rural Transformation Centre (RTC), near here today.

Sungai Rambai with an area of 9,214 hectares, which is also known as the Southern Gate, had been announced as the first sub-district in Melaka on March 1, last year.

The Prime Minister said the progress achieved in the area was also proof that the Barisan Nasional was a government that placed importance on the people in all aspects of administration and management.

He said whenever the government placed importance on the people, it would always think of ways of being more creative for implementation in the interest of the people.

He pointed out that the best example was the creation of the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) and RTC which became the one-stop-centre for the public to carry out transactions with the various government agencies.

"This is the advantage that the existing government has,”he said.

He said that unlike BN, the Opposition parties placed more importance on their political agenda and had ignored the welfare of the people.

Najib said this was clearly seen through the water crisis in the Klang Valley which affected one million residents.

"When we don't give priority to the people, when we place importance on political interest. What is the outcome? For example when the state which is supposed to be more developed than Melaka, even the water issue could not be managed.

"Whereas in matters concerning water, the federal government was willing to come out with RM22 billion in expenditure, the people of Pahang was willing to sell Pahang water, even this has not resolved the problem,”he said.                  

The prime minister said the tunnel issue and the never ending problem of affordable homes in the Opposition state also showed that the opposition government did not carry out what they preached.

Also present at the event were his wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Melaka Chief Minister Datuk Seri Idris Haron. ― Bernama