Published: Thursday June 21, 2012 MYT 1:51:00 PM

PM: Sustainability must be considered in every programme

PUTRAJAYA: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak highlighted a number of approaches including ensuring sustainability to be given focus for successful administration of the country.

He said in implementing any programme, the main factor that needed to be considered was sustainability, so that the economy would continue to grow and the nation's revenue keep increasing.

Najib said with a high economic growth rate and increased national revenue, part of it must go to the social and welfare sector, thus enabling those in need of assistance to receive sustainable financial resources.

He said this situation differed from the model of socialist countries, which emphasised on the distribution of resources without thinking of ways to develop the financial resources or the countries' economy as a whole.

"It will be the same situation if there are groups trying to use a platform that is too populist, promising everything to the people but without presenting the financial sources to sponsor the goods promised," he said at the monthly gathering of the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry here.

Najib has been acting minister for the ministry since April after Datuk Seri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil stepped down from the post.

He said the old approach which was terriorial and inclined towards protecting one's own interest and territory, and being comfortable with whatever implemented at the time, was no longer acceptable.

He said today's administration needed to be more innnovative, creative and farsighted, transcending agency boundaries to produce better output.

For this purpose too, he said, the government launched the national blue ocean strategy to build more solid cooperation between non-governmental organisations, foundations, agencies and departments from the various ministries in implementing development projects.

Najib then referred to the four acres (1.6 hectares) of land at the prime minister's official residence, Seri Perdana, which had been planted with rock melon by a company.

"Don't think that Seri Perdana has no produce, (as) it has indeed generated income. From the four acres plus two more acres worked by the company in another area, last year we made RM600,000 (from growing rock melon).

"My wife (Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor) gave the money to single mothers' associations, and this year we made RM550,000 which will be given to the autistic children's association.

"Without ideas like this, there will be no source of income, and perhaps everything will be asked for solely from the government," he said.

Najib also urged public servants to go down to the ground more often and see for themselves the real siuation before making decisions from the administrative aspects.

"Whatever administrative decision we make, we must realise that there is no policy of 'one size fits all'. The decision must be guided by realities, that's why we must know the actual situation.

"Maybe a general decision is suitable for many, but there could be exceptions that require us to evaluate things and not be so rigid, but be more flexible," he said.

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