Tengah - ‘Be open minded and stay updated’

Posted on October 29, 2010, Friday

MIRI: Community leaders, especially village and longhouse chiefs, should adopt an open mind and make decisions based on consensus when resolving issues which contained differing views and ideas.
Second Minister of Planning and Resource Management Datuk Amar Awang Tengah Ali Hassan said such a stance was important because the rapid change in online technologies and globalisation meant that the people, especially the younger generation, were now very exposed to what’s happening in the outside world.
Easy access to the Internet had led to situations where issues become more complex and the younger generation more vocal and demanding, at times.
“Have an open mind and get consensus when there are different views and ideas,” Awang Tengah said at the Miri Division community leaders’ seminar  yesterday.

He reminded those present that community leaders were the government’s front liners to counter negative perceptions of the government propagated by the opposition.
“You must be well versed in government policies and aspirations in order to meet the needs of the people effectively. Likewise, being knowledgeable means that you can offer feedback to the government or elected representatives for our attention,” he said.
On the opposition’s slogan of ‘Malaysian Malaysia’, Awang Tengah cautioned that it was merely a ‘smoke screen’ to gain power.