Published: Monday July 27, 2009 MYT 10:33:00 AM
Updated: Monday July 27, 2009 MYT 9:20:09 PM

Najib sets targets for Government to meet (Update 3)

By MAZWIN NIK ANIS and ZULKIFLI ABDUL RAHMAN

80 percent of Malaysian children to attend pre-school

newsdesk@thestar.com.my

PUTRAJAYA: Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has outlined specific targets to be achieved under the national Key Result Areas (KRAs), with the most notable being the reduction of street crime nationwide by 20% by the end of 2010.

In announcing the specifics for the six KRAs, the Prime Minister said the Government would study the possibility of setting up tribunals or special courts to deal with street crime cases and provide better training for Rela personnel to assist the police in fighting such crime.

He said he would personally oversee the six ministers. The targets are:

* To reduce street crimes by 20% by the end of 2010 as part of the Government’s KPI target.

* To ensure 80% of Malaysian children get access to pre-school by 2012. Currently only 60% have access.

* By 2012, all school kids must master reading, writing and mathematics by Year 4.

* The Kelana Jaya LRT line is to get 35 new four-car train sets by 2012 as part of the Government's efforts to increase public transport usage to 25% from the present 16%.

* To ensure that by 2012, no one lives further than five kilometres from a tarred road and to build 50,000 homes for the poor.

* To improve the international perception of corruption in Malaysia by improving the country's ranking in the world's corruption index.

The following ministers are in charge of meeting the targets:

* Deputy Prime Minister Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin as lead minister for widening access to quality and affordable education

* Home Minister Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Hussein for crime prevention

* Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk Seri Mohd Nazri Aziz for fighting corruption

* Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Seri Shahrizat Jalil for raising the living standard of the low-income people

* Rural and Regional Development Minister Datuk Seri Shafie Apdal for upgrading infrastructure in the rural and interior regions

* Transport Minister Datuk Seri Ong Tee Keat for improving public transport in a moderate period of time.

Najib said the number of street crime incidences should not be taken lightly as it contributed 17% to the overall crime index for last year, adding that 72% of such crimes occurred in Kuala Lumpur, Selangor, Penang and Johor.

“The Home Ministry together with the Attorney-General’s Chambers and the Prime Minister’s Department are studying ways to expedite the disposal of outstanding cases through the setting up of tribunals or special courts to handle such cases.

“Efforts will also be taken to upgrade equipment at certain police stations while surveillance and prevention measures will be beefed up by installing more CCTVs,” he said at a gathering with civil servants Monday to mark his 100 days in office as Prime Minister.

On July 11, he announced six KRA targets -- crime prevention, combatting corruption, providing greater access to quality and affordable education, improving the quality of life for the poor, improving rural infrastructure and upgrading public transportation in the medium term.

Najib reiterated the Government’s commitment to combatting corruption, adding that it would continue to upgrade its policies, procedures and enforcement.

“The Government has decided that all government procurements should go through open or limited tenders, with exceptions given to certain cases only. The Government has also upgraded the status of the Anti-Corruption Agency to the Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission to boost its effectiveness in fighting corruption,” he said.

The Prime Minister has also set a target for 80% of Malaysian children to get access to pre-school by 2012, adding that all school-going children would master reading, writing and arithmetics as they enter Year 4 before the end of the same year.

“In line with this, the Government will offer a new deal to principals and headmasters with rewards based on the performance and achievements of their schools,” he said, adding that 100 schools -- comprising daily, residential, smart and cluster schools -- would be upgraded to become “high performace schools” by end of 2012.

To improve the quality of life for the poor, the Prime Minister announced that all welfare assistance would be paid on the first of every month beginning January next year, adding that a target has been set to increase the number of women entrepreneurs to 4,000 by 2012 under various Amanah Ikhtiar Malaysia programmes.

“We have also set a target where by 2012, a total of 1,500km of road will be built in the rural areas of Sabah and Sarawak, double from the original plan of 750km; while RM1bil will be spent to upgrade rural roads in the peninsular.

“The Government has also set a target to ensure that 90% of areas in Sabah and Sarawak be supplied with water by the end of 2012, while electricity coverage should reach 95% in the two states by the same year,” he said.

He added that 7,000 orang asli (aborigine) homes in the peninsular would be provided with 24-hour power supply and that the Government would embark on plans to repair and build houses for the poor and the hardcore poor over the next three years.

For the upgrading of public transportation, Najib announced that the Kelana Jaya LRT line would get an additional 35 sets of “4-car” trains to boost the use of public transport among those residing in the Klang Valley.

He said that according to Transport Ministry’s statistics, only 16% of the people use public transport and the Government aims to increase this to 25% by the end of 2012.

“We realise that to achieve this target would require large, sustainable and long-term investment.

“As Malaysia moves forward to achieve a developed nation status, the Government intends to provide the rakyat (people) with a comprehensive public transport system. To achieve this, we need to embark on a serious and long-term effort,” he said.

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Published: Monday July 27, 2009 MYT 10:33:00 AMUpdated: Monday July 27, 2009 MYT 9:20:09 PM

Najib sets targets for Government to meet (Update 3)

By MAZWIN NIK ANIS and ZULKIFLI ABDUL RAHMAN

Published: Monday July 27, 2009 MYT 10:33:00 AM
Updated: Monday July 27, 2009 MYT 9:20:09 PM