KOTA KINABALU: Chief Minister Datuk Seri Musa Aman has urged Barisan Nasional (BN) elected representatives in the state to fully utilise the People’s Development Unit (UPKR) in their respective constituencies to serve the people better.
Musa said UPKRs’ intimate knowledge of what was happening in their areas made them a vital asset for elected representatives, who should always keep themselves updated on the sentiment of their voters, the problems they were facing, and what they wanted their elected representatives to do for them.
“Leaders must work for the people with a full appreciation of the fact that they could not serve the people well on their own without the help from others, including one of the most important tools they have, which is the UPKR,” he said.
Speaking to reporters after addressing the ‘Sabah Chief Minister Premier Gathering With The People’s Development Unit’ event at Yayasan Sabah yesterday, he said UPKR served at the front line of the government by directly engaging the people at the grassroots level.
He said because of this UPKR knew and understood the problems and needs of the people and therefore able to provide useful inputs to the elected representatives and consequently the government in the planning and implementation of development programmes.
“I stress on the importance of UPKR in speech, with a full appreciation of its role as the institution bridging the leaders directly to the people.
“As a leader, including as Chief Minister, we sometimes are too busy at the office. Community Development Leader Unit (UPPM) is our direct line to the people and we must constantly communicate with them to ensure we can serve our people according to their needs,” he added.
He also urged UPKR to continue carrying out their responsibilities with dedication and commitment, especially with the government now facing many new challenges that required all its agencies to be flexible and able to adopt new approaches when needed.
He said UPKR, similar to all government bodies, needed to change its methods in order to suit especially the younger generation, who were often more keen to rely on social network and alternative media for information on current issues.
In this regard, he said the younger generation should be given more opportunities to serve in UPKR or even be appointed as the People Development Officer (PKR).
The institution, he added, should also keep itself abreast with the latest communication technologies and social network applications in order to stay connected with its changing audience.
“UPKR’s responsibility also includes communicating the policies and visions of the government so that the people at grassroots level can understand and support their implementation, to ensure optimal impact towards the country’s development.
“They need to provide accurate information on what we have done, what we are doing now and what we will do next. As I said, the BN government has a lot of programmes aimed at helping the people. The people need to know this so that they realize that BN is a responsible government.
“With the opposition continuously spreading lies and false accusations towards the government, UPKR must be able to provide the best explanation on every issue raised so that the people can see that BN is still relevant,” he said.
To a question, Musa said UPKR, an institution exclusive to Sabah, was still very much relevant to the state.
He said such entity, which assisted elected representatives in administrating his or her constituency, was needed, given the vast size of the state.
“Some of the constituencies in Sabah are as big as a whole state in Peninsular Malaysia,” he pointed out.
Earlier in his speech, Musa announced that UPKR would be known as Unit Pemimpin Pembangunan Masyarakat (Community Development Leader Unit) or UPPM, as part of the re-branding of the institution.
PKR will be changed to Pemimpin Pembangunan Masyarakat (Community Development Leader) or in short, PPM.
He also informed that the state government will look into the appointment of PPM for 10 areas currently under the opposition, after the re-branding process has been officially completed.
Musa also expressed confidence that newly appointed UPKR director Datuk Japlin Akim will take the institution to new heights.
Meanwhile, Japlin said related laws would be amended soon to allow the changing of UPKR to UPPM, once the approval from the state Attorney General had been acquired.