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25th May, 2009
KOTA KINABALU: Kaamatan Festival is an effective medium to promote unity, not just among Sabahans but also among the multi-racial ethnic community at the national level, said Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Haji Aman.
“As it draws people from different ethnics and religions to come together and celebrate, it will contribute directly towards strengthening unity and therefore create a peaceful and prosperous society,” he said in a speech for a Kaamatan celebration in Kinarut near here, yesterday.
He said that the festival has become a celebration for all and no longer celebrated only by the Kadazandusun and Murut (KDM) or other ethnic in Sabah.
The festival to celebrate the bountiful harvest of rice, he said, is gaining more and more recognition among other ethnics in the peninsular following the government’s move to celebrate it at the federal level and to include it as one of the country’s major tourism events.
“This greatly benefit not only the KDM but the all the communities in Sabah and the rest of the country. Recognized at national level and celebrated by all ethnics, the festival has become a platform for uniting the people of diversified background,” he said.
His text was delivered by Industrial Development Minister Datuk Raymond Tan Shu Kiah.
Musa said the recognition given to Kaamatan Festival shows that the Barisan Nasional government is committed in putting the interests of the people first.
“The government realizes that in order to successfully achieve its development agenda, it has to be able to understand the sentiment and needs of the people. And this is why the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak has firmly stressed that every effort towards development must be based on One Malaysia – People First, Performance Now concept,” he said.
Commending Kinarut Sabah Welfare Association (PKKS) for organizing the celebration, the Chief Minister said the event was an exemplary effort towards promoting and preserving the culture and tradition of the ethnics in Sabah and hope more welfare associations would take similar effort in future.
By organising such celebration, he said welfare associations would also strengthen unity and understanding among its multi-racial members while at the same time create a closer relationship with the community.
Musa said the government will always support welfare and social associations in organizing such event and other activities towards the betterment of the society in the State.
He said the government alone could not manage social welfare-related matters effectively and therefore encourage non-governmental organisations (NGOs) to play their roles to help ensure that the interest and welfare of the people, particularly the needy, are better taken care of.
He noted that the government provides huge allocation for implementation of social welfare programmes every year. For this alone, he said the State Government under the State 2009 Budget has allocated RM99.32 million for this purpose.
Some of this allocation, he said, has been channeled to various associations under the Sabah Social Service Council.
According to him, the Ministry of Community Development and Consumer Affairs has recently distributed RM1.4 million to help 23 NGOs finance their social activities.
”The remaining allocation will be channeled and distributed as financial assistance to welfare associations, to install supporting facilities or given directly to the less fortunate.
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