Mawan and Nanta (right) help Najib put on a specially made ‘pua kumbu’ motif vest.

KUCHING: Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak is determined to see all communities in the multi-racial makeup of the country benefit from mainstream development.

According to him, the government would not allow any community, whether big or small, to be sidelined.

“I am committed to ensuring that this will not happen by understanding what it is that each community requires to become more progressive and to feel that they are really part and parcel of this nation,” he said.

Speaking at the Sarawak Dayak National Union (SDNU) 59th anniversary dinner at the Borneo Convention Centre Kuching (BCCK) on Tuesday, Najib said as a prime minister, it was his duty to ‘feel the pulse of the people’.

“I live in Putrajaya and attend all sorts of briefings but nothing beats going down to the ground and meet the people and have the chance to greet them.

“When you meet people, there are certain things you will discover which you may not find when you are being briefed.”

He added that it was also through his regular visits to the state that he could see and hear for himself what the Dayaks wanted such as infrastructure facilities.

“You require more money for infrastructure projects and if the chief minister says it involves billions of ringgit then the Barisan Nasional (BN) government will spend billions of ringgit for the purpose.”

Such an instance, he said, was the ‘missing link’ at the Kapit-Song-Kanowit road for which he announced an allocation of RM87 million during a Ngiling Tikai ceremony held at the 23-door Rumah Bengau at Nanga Sut in Kapit on Tuesday morning.

“Kapit, Ulu Rajang…these are the Dayak heartlands of Sarawak. This is where we must ensure that development takes place and I’m very pleased that I can solve the problems that have long beleaguered the Dayak communities.”

In addition to ensuring that infrastructure development was not neglected, Najib said other pressing issues he would like to look into for the Dayaks included giving them more education and entrepreneurship opportunities, solving native customary rights (NCR) land issues, assisting smallholders and giving the Dayaks more important positions in the government and private sectors.

He also wanted to see more longhouses in Sarawak built the modern style much like the one he visited in Kapit which featured tiled floorings and fans and air-conditioners in each unit.

“No doubt our resources are limited but if we have housing assistance programmes, I am confident more longhouses in the state will be modernised,” he said.

He said once all these initiatives had taken of, there would be improvements in the quality of life, social economic position and dignity of the Dayak communities in the state.

Najib’s wife Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, Chief Minister Datuk Patinggi Tan Sri Adenan Satem and his wife Datin Patinggi Dato’ Jamilah Anu, Social Development Minister Tan Sri William Mawan who is also SDNU president and Deputy Minister of Rural and Regional Development Datuk Alexander Nanta Linggi who is also SDNU deputy president were among those present at the dinner.