We’ll defend Bagan Pinang state seat, says Najib

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MARAN: Barisan Nasional will defend its state seat in Bagan Pinang following the death of assemblyman Azman Mohd Noor.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said this was in line with the coalition’s policy to contest in any seat that falls vacant due to an assemblyman’s death.

“This is especially so since Bagan Pinang is a Barisan seat,” he told reporters after launching Sejahtera, a pilot project on poverty-alleviation and a national-level school adoption plan, PINTAR, in Kampung Teluk Melati here yesterday.

Najib also conveyed his condolences to Azman’s family, saying that he had known Azman since his days in Umno Youth.

Najib also said the Government wanted the nation’s wealth to benefit not only the urban folk but also rural people.

The Sejahtera scheme, he said, was designed to empower the country’s hardcore poor, single mothers and the elderly to have a more sustainable source of income and improve their livelihood through newly acquired skills.

“We do not want the nation’s wealth to only benefit those in the cities but also to be enjoyed by people in the rural areas,” he said.

Also present were his wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor and Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Adnan Yaakob.

Among the companies involved in the pilot project are Khazanah Nasional, Lembaga Tabung Haji, Permodalan Nasional Berhad, Tele- kom Malaysia Bhd, Tenaga Nasional Bhd, Malayan Banking Bhd, Malaysia Airlines System, Proton Holdings Bhd, Sime Darby Bhd, UEM Group Bhd and Chemical Company of Malaysia Bhd.

Najib also said that the Sejahtera programme would be expanded nationwide to cover 1,000 households involving 5,000 people.