KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 29 — The Ministry of Rural and Regional Development will focus on four main aspects in empowering rural sustainable development to ensure the well-being of rural and regional communities.
Its minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said the four aspects include the improvement of good and efficient governance at the local, district and regional levels by connecting the private sector, civil society and government agencies.
“Programmes of change and transformation for rural areas need to be inclusive. Another aspect is the development of the productive sector which refers to agriculture, non-agricultural industries, mining, tourism, natural resources, environmental management and so on.
“The institutional and capability development in several thrust areas including education, training, health, advanced research, marketing, savings and credit, transportation, environment and so on.
“The development of rural infrastructure including roads, electricity, telecommunications, housing, water, public health and so on,” said Ahmad Zahid, who is Deputy Prime Minister, in a Facebook posting today.
Ahmad Zahid said that all narratives, definitions, prescriptions, descriptions about the characteristics of rural and regional development need to be refined because this will affect the discourse and narrative of rural communities.
He said this affirmation is important to highlight the inclusive quality that is part of a larger societal entity that needs to be given continuous priority by agencies, ministries and the community.
“This is also to ensure that the imperative of the village concept that I have presented before moves in line with the ministry’s mission and vision. It is our responsibility to ensure the sustainability of rural and regional development,” he said.
