MALACCA: Ten years of hard work paid off when this historical state was officially declared a “developed state” yesterday.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak made the declaration via tele-conferencing from Kuala Lumpur to thousands of Malac cans gathered at a grand ceremony in Stadium Hang Jebat in Krubong last night.
The crowd cheered and clapped when Najib made the declaration at the auspicious time and date of 2010 hours on 20.10.2010.
The event was themed “Develop ed Malacca 2010: Green Techno logy State City.”
Chief Minister Datuk Seri Mohd Ali Rustam said it was a truly proud day for Malaccans as the state was finally recognised as a developed state by the Organisa tion for Economic Cooperation and Development (OECD).
He added that the state would have a special one-off holiday today. Jon Hall, who has been leading the OECD’s Global Project on Measuring the Progress of Socie ties, said Malaccans had higher than the OECD’s minimum levels in virtually all indicators.
In Kuala Lumpur, Najib who made the announcement from the Putra World Trade Centre where the Umno general assembly is being held – said the Federal Government would give full support to Malacca.
“The people of Malacca should be proud that they have a hard-working and visionary leader,” he added.
Najib then made the official declaration and signed an electronic plaque declaring Malacca a developed state. This was sent to Mohd Ali via an electronic capsule.
Separately, Mohd Ali also launched the RM15.9mil monorail with an inaugural ride at Spice Garden yesterday afternoon.
The monorail service starts operations today.