10th Malaysia Plan Puts Importance On Rural Development, Says Najib

KUALA LUMPUR, June 15 (Bernama) -- The government is focusing on developing rural areas
under the 10th Malaysia Plan to allow Malaysians living in less developed areas to enjoy a better
standard of living, Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said Tuesday.

He said that currently, 7.1 per cent of rural Malaysians lived below the poverty line and that this
could no longer continue.

"Such a deficit must be bridged so that Malaysians of diverse ethnic and cultural groups in less
developed areas can enjoy a better standard of living. The 10th Malaysia Plan seeks to ensure
exactly that.

"In the plan which I unveiled last week, I stated that the government aims to improve the quality
of life and incomes for all Malaysians, including rural inhabitants, over the next five years," he
said in his blog www.1malaysia.com.my today.

The prime minister said that instead of a balanced development approach where projects were
distributed across states and districts equally, a focus on clustered development would allow
allocated resources and the potential of each area to be maximised more efficiently and
strategically.

"Cluster development is best driven by public-private partnerships, which was also featured in
the 10MP. Projects should be implemented in areas where they bring maximum gains.

"Major cities and towns will be developed based on the comparative advantage they have," he
said.

He said that these development programmes and projects must be economically and socially
integrated to the suburbs, which in turn, would be matched by the connectivity to the villages
surrounding these suburbs.

The prime minister said the walkabouts had allowed him to observe communities up close, both
in urban and rural ares, and to interact with Malaysians of different backgrounds.

"It's apparent to me during these walkabouts that stark differences exist in the way we live and
get about. More than once I'm reminded that basic facilities sometimes taken for granted in
towns and cities, such as clean water, electricity and roads, are unavailable in rural kampung," he
said.

-- BERNAMA
June 16, 2010 00:53 AM

PM Says No Conflict Of Bumiputera Equity In New Economic Model And 10th Malaysian Plan

KUALA LUMPUR, June 16 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said there
was no conflict in the status of Bumiputera equity between the New Economic Model (NEM)
and the 10th Malaysia Plan (10MP), as claimed by some.

"There is no conflict. They must understand that the report by NEAC is their report but what I
tabled in Dewan Rakyat is the stand of the government," said Najib when commenting on claims
by the opposition that there was a conflict between the 10MP and NEM on the actual status of
the 30 per cent Bumiputera equity.

"I did not promise that affirmative action will be abolished. That is a misconception. What I said
was that more affirmative action will be taken compared with past, through a more market
friendly approach based on merit," he said.

"And we will also focus on boosting the household income of the 40 per cent group, without any
racial bias. We will also focus on the role of the private sector who will certainly help spur the
national economy."

Najib said the government would also give further details on the 12 National Key Economic
Area (NKEA) and the breakdown to develop the NKEA and other sub-sectors in contributing the
expected per-capita income leap.

-- BERNAMA

THE 10TH MALAYSIA PLAN –

{RANCANGAN MALAYSIA KE-10 (RMK-
10)}
Published on June 14, 2010 in article. 11 Comments

RMK 10 as announced by the Prime Minister on 10th Jun 2010 is indeed a very
comprehensive plan for the country going forward (2011 to 2015). There is a role
for everyone and as to achieve Vision 2020, every Malaysian must ensure that the
GDP grows at 6% pa. This is not an easy task but can be achieved if we get our
acts right. So the key is to ensure continuity and stability. With the many key and
massive projects announced by the PM, I am confident we can make the Tenth
Plan a roaring success.
RMK 10 like all such Five-Year Plan in the past will affect all sectors. I am
excited as to what the Plan will bring to spur the green technology sector to grow
at a much faster pace than now. Many have called me up or sms me regarding
the up-side in the economy that the green technology sector will generate going
forward. Green buildings will feature strongly within the green communities that
the government will promote. Another area is the FiT scheme that will be
implemented next year when Parliament passes the relevent legislation.