Taib presents the Malaysia Book of Records certificate to Hii.
MIRI: The policy where all races in the state are treated as equals must be preserved in order to nurture greater understanding among the people, said Pehin Sri Abdul Taib Mahmud.
Speaking at the ‘Satu Malaysia Satu Hua Zhong’ Chinese New Year function here on Saturday, the outgoing chief minister said due to the multi-racial makeup of the state, the majority or dominant race policies would not work.
“I think we have learned to be more open and to cooperate because nobody desires to be dominant or to dominate other people in whatever we plan for the future,” he said at the gathering that was organised by the Federation of Miri Chinese Association.
Among those present were Second Finance Minister Dato Sri Wong Soon Koh, Assistant Minister of Communication Datuk Lee Kim Shin, and Federation of Miri Division Chinese Association president Hii Teck Yun.
The close cooperation among all races in the state, he said, had enabled the government to ensure there were ample opportunities for everyone, and this is especially so in the field of education.
“As you can see in the last few years, the escalation of education has touched all races.
“Our policy is such that we can develop the state properly without the feeling of insecurity arising between other groups.
“You can expect the next chief minister (Tan Sri Datuk Amar Adenan Satem) and his cabinet to treasure any opportunity to create close interaction between all the races.”
Taib will be stepping down as chief minister this coming Friday after helming the state for nearly 33 years.
“This is going to be my last speech as chief minister to you and addressing you in a Chinese New Year gathering. I want to take this opportunity to say thank you to all of you, especially business friends, community leaders and even the ordinary guys, who have been working very hard to transform Miri from a very humble beginning into a thriving town economically.
“Miri has also been able to attract people in the timber and oil industry, and built up a strong business community to support its growth.
“As a person born in Miri, I want to take the opportunity to say ‘thank you’ to all of you for all your contributions.”
At the function, Taib presented a RM100,000 donation to the association for their activities and programs.
Taib also witnessed the endorsement of the most ‘ma’ (Chinese word for horse) calligraphy by the Malaysia Book of Records.
The association successfully created 4,088 ‘ma’ characters at the gathering. - theborneopost
No comments:
Post a Comment