SRI AMAN: Rural areas will not be neglected in the fruits of development, said Assistant Rural Development Minister Datuk Francis Harden Hollis.
He said the government will intensify the effort to bring development to rural areas for the benefit of the rural folks.
He however pointed out that such efforts to bring development will not be successful, if the people fail to use the opportunities provided by the government.
“To bring development, the people must be prepared to embrace change, to change themselves for the better, so that the effort and development plan of the government will be fruitful,” he stressed at a dinner hosted by Sri Aman Public Works Department (JKR) KelabSokanjaya.
Harden, who is Assistant Housing Minister, said people particularly in rural areas must have the initiative to improve themselves economically, rather than to depend entirely on government subsidies.
“The people must learn to accept new ideas and thoughts so as not be left behind from the mainstream of development, particularly when the country moves towards an industrialised nation by 2020,” he pointed out.
He also pointed out on the need for the people to master information and communication technology (ICT) to become a knowledgeable society. The use of ICT was now becoming so prominent that the people must learn to cope with it, he added.
Among those present were Assistant Minister of Agriculture (Research and Marketing) Datuk Mong Dagang, LubikAntu MP William Nyallau, Engkilili assemblyman Dr Johnical Rayong and Batang Ai assemblyman Malcom Mussen Lamoh.