RT RECORD-BREAKING ATTENDANCE

LAUNCHING.....Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman Launching the 'Sayang' Community Programme at the State Legislative Assembly Building. Seen next to him is State Legislative Speaker Datuk Salleh Said Keruak and Director of National Unity and Integration Department Sabah, Nurul Akmalina Shamsuddin.

By : SHALINA R

2200 RUKUN Tetangga (RT) Committee members from across Sabah attended the 2012 Rukun Tetangga Act Briefing and Sayang Community Programme Launch held at the State Legislative Assembly Building on December 18th recently.

Chief Minister Datuk Seri Panglima Musa Aman noted that it was the largest ever attendance, saying that the turn up was a reflection of Sabahans' great commitment in fulfilling their role to ensure peace and security in the country. At their own expense, these participants took time off to be at the event.

"The state government values the contributions and role of the RT Committee in Sabah," said Musa. "It is critical in maintaining peace and order in the state."

"I would like to see the cooperation to continue and increase, as well as greater coordination between the committees and the grassroot leaders, as the neighbourhood watch effort is proven to have a positive impact on our society," added the Chief Minister.

At present, there are 558 RT areas in Sabah with over 14,000 active members and 190 Skim Rondaan Sukarela (SRS).

According to Dato' Azman Amin Hassan, the Director General of Malaysia's National Unity and Integration Department (NUID), there are currently more than 6400 RT areas and 3300 SRS in the nation. He also revealed that the country has more than 160,000 SRS patrol units.

The Director General hopes that SRS and the RT committees will continue to work closely with the Police  to reduce the crime rate in Malaysia.

According to Azman, in 2012, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made  a grant of RM50 million to NUID to provide financial assistance to RT committees throughout the country to enable them to carry out activities at the grassroot level.

The Rukun Tetangga Act Briefing and Sayang Community Programme launching event was organized by NUID Sabah to introduce committee members to the Sayang Community Programme that aims to foster a caring society.

Also at the ceremony were Sabah State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk Salleh Said Keruak, Deputy Chief Minister Tan Sri Datuk Seri Panglima Joseph Pairin Kitingan, Rural Development Minister Datuk Ewon Ebin as well as Tourism, Culture and Environment Minister Datuk Masidi Manjun. (Insight Sabah)