UTC an outcome of '1Malaysia: People first, performance now' slogan - Najib

Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak said the creation of the Urban Transformation Centre (UTC) by the government is a model to translate into reality the slogan '1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now' that he mooted as soon as he became Prime Minister in 2009.

The Prime Minister said when he came up with the slogan he did not want it to remain just a slogan without follow up action to ensure its outcome was truly felt by the people.

"To some people, '1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now' is just a slogan but to me I do not want it to be regarded as so. It must be followed up with actions which befit the words of the slogan.

"One of the ways is we need to introduce products and ways or administrative methods which are in line with the concept '1Malaysia: People First, Performance Now'. As such, we set up 1Malaysia People's Shops, 1Malaysia Clinics, 1Malaysia People's Aid and we have also set up UTCs nationwide.

"When we look at the concept of the UTC, it fits the 1Malaysia concept as it can be used by all Malaysians," he said. Najib said this when opening the Labuan UTC at Labuan Pasar Sentral here Saturday.

Also present were Federal Territories Minister Datuk Seri Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor and Labuan Member of Parliament Datuk Rozman Isli, who is also Labuan Corporation chairman.

The RM23 million Labuan UTC, which was completed in eight weeks, houses government agencies and provides services not only for the residents of Labuan but also Malaysians from Lawas and Limbang in Sarawak and Kuala Penyu in Sabah.

Also available is a 1Malaysia People's Clinic, a dental clinic and a maternity clinic.

According to Najib, the UTC which enables all government services to be housed under one roof, met the concept of people first while its construction in a very short time aptly met the concept of performance now.

Najib said Malaysia was the only country in the world which provided a government service system via the UTC concept aimed at giving faster, more efficient and cheaper services to the people.

Meanwhile, Najib advised the people of Labuan, whose economy might be impacted by falling gas and petroleum prices in the global market, to be patient and to bear with it, and to continue to be with the government and understand the global economic situation.

He said despite facing the difficult situation, the government would continue to prioritise the welfare and prosperity of the people.

According to Najib, although Malaysia received the backlash of the fall in oil prices, the national economy could still expand between 4.4 per cent and 4.5 per cent this year compared to 5.1 per cent in the first nine months of last year.

He said, although Labuan might be more affected compared to other places due to its oil industry, the people there must persevere as there were indications of global oil prices heading for a recovery.

"In this situation, we must persevere, understand the situation because we have experienced worse in the past and I believe if the people continue to be together with the government, understand the government, we will deal with it and we can place a stronger foundation to our economy on a continuous basis," he added.