“Anda boleh kekalkan jati diri anda dan juga mempunyai persepktif global dengan mendapatkan pengalaman kerja dan penguasaan dalam beberapa bahasa,” kata Najib yang berada di sini bagi lawatan peribadi.

Beliau berkata penuntut wajar memanfaatkan program latihan atau internship seperti yang diusahakan oleh Dewan Perdagangan Malaysia-AS di sini, dengan kerjasama Education Malaysia di Washington DC, yang membuka pintu kepada penuntut Malaysia di AS untuk menjalani latihan dengan syarikat milik Malaysia atau Amerika sama ada di Malaysia atau Amerika Syarikat pada musim panas untuk meningkatkan pengalaman pembelajaran mereka.

“Malahan jika anda bekerja di AS, kami tidak akan kehilangan anda selama-lamanya,” katanya pada majlis tengah hari pada Jumaat lepas yang dianjurkan oleh Duta Datuk Othman Hashim.

Najib diiringi Duta Khas Malaysia ke AS Datuk Seri Dr Jamaludin Jarjis.

“Tugas saya ialah mewujudkan sebanyak peluang yang boleh – selebihnya, terpulang kepada anda,” kata Perdana Menteri kepada kira-kira 30 penuntut Malaysia yang sedang melanjutkan pelajaran dalam jurusan kejuruteraan, bioteknologi dan sains aktuari di Stevens Institute of Technology, New Jersey; Rutgers University, New Jersey; Temple University, Pennsylvania; dan Purdue University, Indiana.

Najib dan isterinya Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor sedang melakukan lawatan peribadi bagi menghadiri majlis konvokesyen anak mereka Nor Ashman pada Sabtu.

Perdana Menteri secara berseloroh turut menceritakan perasaan “terkejutnya” ketika melawat bilik asrama anaknya itu di Washington DC, apabila mendapati tidak terdapat banyak buku di situ.

Menyedari kebimbangan bapanya itu, Nor Ashman menenangkan beliau dengan mengatakan yang dirinya tidak perlukan banyak buku kerana boleh membaca secara digital dan ini dibuktikan menerusi keputusannya.

Sebagaimana bapa lain yang berbangga dengan pencapaian anak mereka, Najib dengan perasaan gembira menyatakan anak lelakinya yang berumur 21 tahun itu mencatatkan keputusan di luar jangkaannya apabila menamatkan pengajian ijazah Sarjana Muda Hal Ehwal Antarabngsa dengan kepujian `Magna cum Laude’ dan memperoleh gred purata CGPA 3.71 daripada Georgetown University.

Perdana Menteri turut menyentuh mengenai konsep 1Malaysia, sambil menegaskan ia buka sekadar slogan tetapi inisiatif untuk menjadikan Malaysia inklusif – bahawa Malaysia bukan hanya untuk kumpulan etnik tertentu, tetapi bagi semua rakyat Malaysia.

Beliau turut memberikan perkembangan terkini kepada penuntut Malaysia mengenai beberapa projek pembangunan di Malaysia, termasuk kompleks Pembangunan Bersepadu Penapisan Minyak dan Petrokimia (RAPID) yang dilancarkan Petronas di Pengerang, Johor, tambahan kepada kompleks petrokimia yang dimajukan sebuah syarikat Taiwan, yang dijangka mewujudkan kira-kira 5,000 peluang kerja secara tetap dan tambahan 5,000 peluang kerja secara kontrak.

Najib turut memperkatakan mengenai projek Sungai Nadi Kehidupan (RoL) bagi membangunkan sungai Klang dan sungai Gombak sebagai tebingan sungai yang indah dan menarik di samping meningkatkan daya maju ekonomi di kawasan berkenaan.

“Kami perlu membuat kek yang lebih besar dan mengagihkannya kepada semua rakyat Malaysia,” katanya dan menurutnya ekonomi Malaysia semakin baik dan kerajaan pada tahun lepas mengutip RM26 bilion bagi hasil cukai berikutan langkah-langkah tegas yang dilaksanakan untuk mengutip cukai.

Ekonomi yang semakin baik juga telah membolehkan kerajaan menghulurkan bantuan kewangan sebanyak RM500 kepada kira-kira empat juta isi rumah dengan pendapatan kurang RM3,000 sebulan.

Mengenai politik, Najib melahirkan rasa kecewa dengan perhimpunan Bersih 3.0 yang beliau sifatkan sebagai “tidak terlalu bersih” (aman) selepas ia “dirampas” oleh pihak-pihak yang mempunyai agenda mereka tersendiri untuk mewujudkan persepsi bahawa negara tidak stabil.

Katanya penunjuk perasaan yang bertindak ganas itu telah menolak tawaran kerajaan bagi mengadakan perhimpunan di tempat yang sesuai dan kemudiannya melanggar undang-undang, yang mengakibatkan keadaan bertukar menjadi ganas dan kecoh di mana malahan pegawai polis turut diserang.

Najib membandingkannya dengan perhimpunan besar-besaran Umno yang berlangsung di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil di mana 100,000 orang berhimpun secara aman tanpa sebarang kejadian tidak diingini.

Sumber : Bernama

He was in the United Kingdom for a two-day working visit.

About three hours before he left, Najib attended a reception hosted by Prince Charles in conjunction with the granting of the Royal Charter Award to the Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies (OCIS).

Among other guests from Malaysia were the Raja Muda of Perak Raja Dr Nazrin Shah, who is a trustee of OCIS, Tun Ahmad Sarji Abdul Hamid also as trustee, Datuk Dr Afifi Alkiti who is a fellow at the centre and Tuanku Raja Zarith Sofiah Al-Marhum Sultan Idris Shah.

The prime minister is a member of the high council while Prince Charles is the patron.

Royal Charters are granted by the Sovereign on the advice of the Privy Council. The practice dates back to the 13th century.

They are now normally granted only to bodies that work in the public interest and which can demonstrate pre-eminence, stability, permanence and a strong record of achievement in their particular field. The University of Oxford, and many of the Oxford Colleges, are similarly incorporated.

The Conferment of the Royal Charter to the OCIS is significant as it marks the first time an Islamic institution in the United Kingdom (UK) is conferred with such a prestigious status since such Charters were granted by successive Sovereigns from 1231.

According to Najib, Malaysia had made significant financial and material contributions to the centre.

“We believe we need to project the real image of Islam and Malaysia’s success as a progressive and modern Muslim country as well as looking after the rights of the non-Muslims is a very good model for us to demonstrate. The Oxford Centre allows us to do so,” he told the Malaysian media here.

Najib, who was invited by Prince Charles to attend the event, considered the invitation as a recognition and honour for Malaysia.

The Oxford Centre for Islamic Studies is a Recognised Independent Centre of the University of Oxford.

Founded in 1985, it encourages through research, teaching and publication a better understanding of the culture and civilisation of Islam and contemporary Muslim societies.

Fellows of the Centre teach in a number of faculties across the University. Its Visiting Fellowship and Scholarship programmes have brought scholars to Oxford from almost 50 countries.

Source : Bernama

“Eventhough there are many US companies in Malaysia, we want more American companies to invest in Malaysia,” he told the Malaysian media ahead of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak’s visit to New York from Tuesday to Friday.

As part of the effort, he said, Najib will attend a business roundtable with the business community here and meet chief executive officers of top US companies and captains of industries.

Among the companies are Eastman Chemical, Global Consumer Insurance, Guardian Pharmacy, ConocoPhilips, Boeing and Citigroup.

“The United States is one of the top foreign investors in Malaysia, so we want to increase the figures. We know there are a lot of opportunities for Malaysia and the United States to work together in this field,” he said.

Othman said Malaysia was also pushing for an increase in trade with the United States eventhough trade between the two countries was now “very huge”.

Total trade between the two countries last year was US$36.33 billion, with the bilateral trade always in favour of Malaysia, he said. (US$1=RM3.085)

“We want to push trade figures to go up even further because the US is Malaysia’s fourth largest trading partner and among Asean countries, imports from Malaysia is the biggest from the US.

“So, if you look at the figures alone, it gives a good indication that the two countries have been working very well in this area,” he said.

On Najib’s working visit, Othman said it was to strengthen Malaysia-US relations, particularly in the area of economics, trade and business, which are of interest to Malaysia.

“We are happy that relations between Malaysia and the US have been very strong and warm, and this positive development has been going on even stronger during the last few years.

“We could see this in terms of the exchange of visits…(and) if you look at the trade figures and other activities that have been done between the two countries in the various areas…especially in political relations, economic, trade, science and technology, and some other areas which have been there for quite a while, like defence, security…these are all important issues of mutual interest and mutual benefit to both countries,” he said.

He said the highlight of the visit is the Second Meeting of the Global Sciences and Innovation Advisory Council (GSIAC) at the New York Academy of Sciences (NYAS), which will be chaired by Najib on Wednesday.

The council comprises 35 members — 10 from Malaysia and 25 international members. It is a joint initiative between the Malaysia Industry-Government Group for High Technology (MIGHT) and NYAS in pursuit of transforming Malaysia into a high-income economy by enhancing Malaysia’s capabilities in science and innovation.

It was launched by Najib and held its inaugural meeting here on May 17 last year.

In conjunction with the meeting, the prime minister is scheduled to witness several exchange of documents including between MyBiomass, Sime Darby and Felda; Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia (UKM) and NYAS; Universiti Teknologi Malaysia and Columbia University; Center for Global Sustainability Studies (CGSS), Universiti Sains Malaysia and Earth Institute, Columbia University; and Nano Malaysia Corporation and Advanced Energy Research and Technology Center of Stony Brook University.

Najib will also attend a roundtable meeting with leaders of Fortune 500 Companies at Harvard Club of New York, apart from receiving courtesy calls by Chairman of the Board and CEO of Ocean Thermal Energy Corporation, Jeremy P. Feakins and Executive Vice President of Motorola Solutions, Gene Delaney, among others.

In a separate programme, Najib’s wife, Datin Seri Rosmah Mansor, is scheduled to receive a courtesy call by the Chief Executive Officer of Girl Scouts of the USA, Anna Maria Chavez, and will visit the New York Presbyterian Children’s Hospital on Wednesday.

Najib and Rosmah will depart for Washington D.C. on a special aircraft from the Westchester County Airport on Friday.

Source : Bernama

Malaysian Ex-Policemen’s Association information chief Mohd Zainan Yunus said, such behaviour created a bad impression on Malaysia, thus, affecting its image and reputation.

“The action, as depicted by two or three individuals, was very disrespectful and rude…those who were screaming and shouting, ‘Bersih’… it was certainly not appropriate and did not show respect to our prime minister.

“If they (the two ministries) find that the hecklers were Malaysian students, the government should withdraw their sponsorship and ask them to return home,” he told reporters here today.

At the ‘Sepetang Bersama Perdana Menteri’ (An Evening with the Prime Minister) event in London, where about 1,500 people attended, between two and three individuals displayed rude behaviour, made noise and heckled.

Source : Bernama

Najib berkata dalam mana-mana demokrasi akan ada mereka yang mengundi menyokong dan menentang, tetapi akhirnya, apa yang paling utama ialah pilihan rakyat.

“Rakyat Malaysia akan mempunyai pilihan itu. Kita telah membuktikannya. Anda tidak perlu mengadakan demonstrasi jalanan di Malaysia kerana jika diadakan juga, tidak dapat tidak akan timbul masalah, akan berlaku pertelagahan,” katanya jelas merujuk kepada demonstrasi Bersih 3.0 di Kuala Lumpur bulan lepas.

Perdana Menteri berucap kepada kira-kira 1,500 warga Malaysia di sini yang sanggup melalui kesesakan lalu lintas di London untuk hadir pada majlis “Sepetang Bersama Perdana Menteri” yang diadakan di dewan konsert 02 Arena di Greenwich, timur London.

Najib berkata seseorang itu mempunyai hak untuk menyokong kerajaan atau pembangkang tetapi “anda harus melakukannya mengikut lunas undang-undang yang ada”.

“Jika anda tidak hiraukan peraturan undang-undang, akan berlaku anarki dalam negara. Tidak harus berlaku anarki di negara kita. Kita boleh terima pertentangan pendapat dam pandangan tapi saya tidak akan hormati jika anda melanggar undang-undang negara. Itulah satu-satunya perlindungan yang kita ada untuk masa depan rakyat Malaysia,” katanya.

Perdana menteri menarik perhatian bahawa telah terbukti sejumlah 100,000 orang boleh berkumpul di sebuah stadium, dan melakukannya dengan begitu aman sekali, merujuk jelas kepada perhimpunan besar-besaran yang diadakan di Stadium Nasional Bukit Jalil sempena sambutan ulang tahun ke-66 Umno pada 11 Mei.

“Itulah caranya yang betul. Jika Bersih mahu mengadakan perjumpaan, kita boleh berikan mereka stadium yang sama, dan kita akan pastikan keamanan dan keselamatannya. Tiada siapa yang akan dicederakan dan itulah cara yang sebenarnya bagi kita sebagai sebuah negara yang matang. Kita percayakan demokrasi, tetapi demokrasi dengan tangungjawab.”

Ucapan Najib, yang disampaikan dalam suasana yang santai, diterima dengan penuh bersemangat oleh warga Malaysia di sini yang berkumpul di dewan konsert itu, dengan sesetengahnya membawa bersama anak-anak mereka.

Ada dua tiga orang yang berbuat bising dalam kalangan audien itu, membuatkan perdana menteri berkata “ini bukan adab orang Malaysia dan tidak sopan untuk mengganggu”, bagaimanapun hadirin yang lain amat tekun mendengar ucapan beliau.

Sumber : Bernama