By NNN-Bernama
Dungun (Malaysia) : The development agenda undertaken by the Malaysian government is not for showing off but a duty entrusted to it to bring betterment to the people, said Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.
“We are only the representatives of the people who have given us the trust. We (the government) will implement what we say,” added the Prime Minister at the laying of the foundation stone for the Universiti Teknologi Mara (UiTM) campus in Bukit Besi, here Sunday.
The campus, costing RM54 million, will be built on a 400-hectare site in the Ninth Malaysia Plan.
Abdullah, who was on a one-day working visit to Terengganu state, wants the campus to be built soonest possible, saying that “educational development is continuously emphasised to produce first-class human capital”.
He said balanced development throughout the country in various fields was vital to make Malaysia a developed nation.
“It (balanced development) is like a carpenter producing great carvings as he has good tools. Without the tools, he won’t be able to produce such carvings.
“Likewise, educational development must be in tandem with the physical development in the country in order to produce world-class human capital.”
Abdullah said adding value to the individual’s capability in the spheres of knowledge and skills also needed to be emphasised to ensure continued self-improvement to meet the country’s requirements.
Meanwhile, Higher Education Minister Datuk Mustapa Mohamed, in his speech, said UiTM had played a big role in producing many middle-class Malays and professionals.
He said towards the same objective, the government would increase UiTM’s student population from 116,000 currently to 200,000 soon.
Also present at the ceremony were Abdullah’s wife Jeanne Abdullah and Terengganu state Menteri Besar (Chief Minister) Idris Jusoh.