PM NAJIB CANCELS HOLIDAY TO BE WITH PEOPLE

SEPANG (Malaysia), July 22 (Bernama) -- Prime Minister Najib Razak, who returned Friday from working visits to three countries, said he had cancelled a holiday with the family abroad to spend more time with the people in Malaysia.

He said he was thankful to his wife, Rosmah Mansor, and their children for having agreed with him to come back earlier from overseas.

"I told my family I felt that I should return to Malaysia and that I was prepared to forgo the holiday for the sake of Malaysians back home," he said when addressing about 3,000 people who had gathered at the Bunga Raya Complex of the KL International Airport to greet him on his return.

Najib had been abroad on official visits to Turkmenistan, the United Kingdom and Italy.

Friday, he is scheduled to go on a walkabout in Subang Perdana, attend Friday prayers at the Subang Perdana Mosque and have lunch with the people at Sekolah Kebangsaan Jalan U3 (primary school), Subang Perdana.

Najib said he informed Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin that it was important that both of them and the other ministers as well to go down to the ground to meet the people.

"We have to meet the people. We have to tell them that they can depend on the Barisan Nasional government, that the BN is their best choice," he said.

Najib is scheduled to visit northern state of Perlis on Saturday.

Najib was greeted with a banner carrying the signatures of about 1.2 million Malaysians expressing their support for his leadership as the prime minister.

The signature campaign was initiated by the Malaysian Indian Muslim
Congress, an associate member of United Malays National Organisation (Umno), the party leading the ruling coalition Barisan Nasional (BN).