Najib: Unity our foundation to success
By IZATUN SHARI | newsdesk@thestar.com.my 
January 25, 2006
The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: National integration and unity form the bedrock of the country's success and resilience. 

“We must never allow our communities to drift apart,” said Deputy Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak. 

The Government had to be mindful of this when determining its priorities under the Ninth Malaysia Plan, he said in his keynote address at the opening of the Eighth Malaysian Strategic Outlook Conference 2006 here yesterday. 

Therefore, he said, the Government's social programmes and educational approaches such as the National Service and Vision Schools, must strive to build understanding, respect and tolerance. 

Najib outlined the four guiding principles that formed the foundation of the plan's approach. 

Fair distribution of income and opportunity within a growing economy would remain the key pillar, as the Government continues to make efforts to close the gap between ethnic groups, between rural and urban communities and between Peninsular Malaysia and Sabah and Sarawak.  

Secondly, he said the Government would help all sectors, in particular the small-and-medium-scale entrepreneurs.  

The third pillar was human capital development, with the Government placing this as number one on the agenda to ensure the country really build a knowledge-based economy driven by innovation and ideas. 

Finally, he said the Government would continue to improve public services delivery and reduce the cost of doing business in the country.  

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/1/25/nation/13204706&sec=nation