VILLAGE HEADS, COMMUNITY LEADERS PLAY KEY ROLE IN INFORMING PEOPLE ON GOVT PROGRAMMES

Village heads, community leaders play key role in informing people on govt programmes

KOTA MARUDU April 25, 2012: Village heads and community leaders play a key role in informing the people on the government’s programmes, to ensure they will not be influenced by elements out to discredit the government.

Science, Technology and Innovation Minister Datuk Seri Dr Maximus Ongkili said the track record showed that only Barisan Nasional could deliver its promises.

“The opposition can only make empty promises. They can very well make grand promises too as they know they will not have to fulfil them,” he said at a training workshop for village committee chairmen and village headmen at the Kota Marudu community hall, here, yesterday.

Ongkili, who is Kota Marudu MP, said on the contrary, the government’s mission of helping the people was ongoing, including in land matters.

“We have been holding meetings and discussions with the state government and developers involved to resolve the land issue in Kota Marudu.

“The matter is almost settled as survey work is about to start for the issuance of communal titles to the affected villages,” he said.

“But the opposition is still playing up the issue and making the people believe that nothing is being done.

“Thus, it is the duty of the village leaders to explain this to the people,” he said, adding that as the link between the government and the people, they too must be well-informed.

Ongkili pointed out that several unprecedented reformation programmes initiated by the government today had already seen results and these measures were providing Sabahans with more opportunities.

Under the Government Transformation Programme, the government had set aside RM30 million for land survey work for Sabah and Sarawak, and some of the allocation would be used for Kota Marudu, he said.