Nation-state cannot be shaped based on slander, sedition: Najib (Updated)

KUALA TERENGGANU: A nation-state cannot be shaped by assumptions and evaluations based on slander and sedition, said Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak.
The caretaker Prime Minister said the people should be wise in making evaluations based on facts and proof of projects implemented, such as the urban transformation centres (UTCs) that provide them with great benefits.
"Even as we are lashed by the tsunami of slander belittling the government and leaders, I would like to say that we cannot build a future for a nation-state based on slander and personal attacks. We have to determine who has the best agenda for our country.
"We have to determine who can make our lives better and who can take the country to the pinnacle of success that we can be proud of. These are the criteria we have to consider to enable us to make a mature decision as voters and choose between gemstone and glass," he said.
Najib was speaking at the opening of the Terengganu Urban Transformation Centre here. Also present at the event were Terengganu Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Ahmad Razif Abd Rahman, Higher Education Minister Datuk Seri Idris Jusoh and Agriculture and Agro-based Industry Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Shabery Cheek.
Najib also said that in determining whom to vote for on polling day on May 9, the voters should also consider everything that the government had done, based on facts and not falsehood.
On UTCs, he said that between 2012 and 2016, the government had built 21 of these centres all over the country and that the number of users of the services there had exceeded 61 million.
The number of users of the Terengganu UTC had continued to rise, registering 186,000 users in the first three months of this year, he said, adding that UTCs truly reflected the essence of the slogan that was used when he became the prime minister, namely 'people first'.
"The UTCs are really people-oriented. If they are gauged on the diversity of services under one roof, they definitely provide a great deal of facilities to the people. Thirty federal, state and private-sector agencies under one roof.
"If they are gauged in terms of operating hours, from 8.30 am to 10 pm, they definitely offer much comfort to the people. If they gauged in terms of the seven-day per week operation, they also provide an invaluable service to the people," he said.
Najib also said that when gauged in terms of the quality and speed of service, the UTCs provided a service unmatched even by that in most developed countries because an international passport can be applied for and be received in an hour.
When gauged in terms of the outcome and effectiveness on the people, the UTCs were on top of the scale compared with other initiatives, he said.
"No other country is capable of introducing the UTC initiative. Even foreign visitors are amazed and enquire how we are able to provide such a service.
"The World Bank and Commonwealth and Asean organisations have conducted reviews and have given high marks for the UTC service," he said.
About 5,000 people attended the event. Najib also toured the Terengganu UTC which is located at the Paya Bunga Square and Plaza Paya Bunga. — Bernama