Najib Abdul Razak has given an assurance to the people in Sabah that he would continue to safeguard their interest and future as long as he is prime minister.

"I was given the mandate to lead the country. I also have the mandate to safeguard the wellbeing of the people in Sabah, Malaysia. It pleases me to do so because people here are sincere.

"I agree with Musa about people in Sabah..if we do them good, they will repay with good. If we are bad, they will get back at us.

"But you don't have to worry. As long as I am prime minister, I will give priority to Sabah," he said.

He said this while addressing about 40,000 people at the 'Perhimpunan Solidariti Rakyat Sabah bersama Perdana Menteri', at Padang Perbandaran Tawau, today.

Najib said the federal government under his leadership had already given a substantial allocation to Sabah and was considering to approve an application by the state government for an additional RM270 million.

He said it was only fair to help the state as the people had always

supported the BN at every election and that he had come to regard Sabah as the coalition's 'fixed deposit'.

"You can depend on me as prime minister to help Sabah, because I want Sabah to continue to be stable, progressive and successful and become a state we can be proud of," he said.

'I owe Sabah'

Earlier, in Kota Belud, Najib said that he has a debt of gratitude with Sabahans.

"I owe Sabah," he said when launching the Kota Belud People's Housing Project (PPR) today.

"I have once said that Sabah is BNs fixed deposit. To me, Sabah is still BN's fixed deposit.

"Sabah has a lot of potential, and we (BN) must ensure that Sabah gets balanced development [...] We (BN) has also not forgotten the deeds of the people to BN," he said.

Najib said that since assuming the prime minister's post six years ago, he had approved a lot of allocations and big projects in the state as he really wanted the landscape of Sabah to continue changing.

"I will come visit Sabah more, especially the rural areas.

"The people in the rural areas are really loyal to UMNO and BN. Of course the BN government which they (rural folks) support will continue looking out for them," he said.

Najib also said he was impressed with the abilities of the leaders chosen from among the Sabah communities.

"There are people who want to weaken BN's 'fixed deposit'. But we have many warriors (leaders from Sabah) who are brave, principled and sturdy," he said.

He commended, among others, Sabah Chief Minister Musa Aman (photo) who was really determined to fulfill the needs of the people in the state; Minister of Urban Wellbeing, Housing and Local Government Abdul Rahman Dahlan, who is an intellectual speaker, and Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker Salleh Said, who had a sharp mind and was not afraid to voice out his thoughts.

Najib also said he was impressed with Pandikar Amin Mulia as the Speaker of Dewan Rakyat.

- Bernama

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