All efforts taken to rescue victims of the quake in Sabah - Najib

All efforts are being taken to rescue victims affected by the earthquake which hit Ranau, Sabah yesterday, said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.

He said the incident was something that was most surprising and that everyone was saddened by the disaster.

"The people are now shocked and saddened by the earthquake that occurred in Ranau, Sabah. All efforts are being taken to rescue the victims of the tragedy," he said when delivering the congratulatory speech to the Yang di-Pertuan Agong, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu'adzam Shah in conjunction with his official birthday celebration at the Istana Negara, here today.

So far, 11 people had died in the tragedy, while eight other individuals have yet to be traced.

READ: Ranau quake: Two bodies brought down from Mount Kinabalu

PHOTOS: Ranau earthquake

The tremor caused by the moderate earthquake measuring 5.9 on the Richter scale which struck Ranau yesterday was also felt in areas such as Tambunan, Tuaran, Kota Kinabalu and Kota Belud.

In the speech, the prime minister also said that five major indicators in the achievement report of the Government Transformation Program (GTP) and Economic Transformation Program (ETP) throughout the last five years began in 2010.

Among the achievements were the rise in the people's per capita income from USD7,059 in 2009, to USD10,426 in 2014 besides almost 170,000 people having been taken out of the poverty group.

Everything that was mentioned in the report also received the recognition of various groups at the national and international level and validated by accredited auditors.

"The GTP 3.0 horizon and subsequently, will take Malaysia into the arena of the developed nations with the will and blessings of Allah by the year 2020," he said.

Explaining on the 26th ASEAN Summit Meeting in Langkawi, last April, which saw Malaysia being made Chairman for the year 2015, the ASEAN leadership reached consensus on two issues, namely the formation of the ASEAN economic community and the ASEAN roadmap for the next 10 years.

"This represented another milestone for the 600 million people in Southeast Asia," he said.

On the 11th Malaysia Plan (11MP), Najib said its success could only be achieved with the support and cooperation of every strata of society.

"What is important is that we must develop a national consensus or national understanding, which would form the thrust of success not only towards achieving the developed nation status but beyond 2020," he added.