Saturday July 26, 2008 MYT 4:47:35 PM

Go on with Umno-PAS talks, says Najib

By ROSLINA MOHAMAD

PEKAN: Deputy Umno president Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak described the Umno-PAS talks as a good thing and it was something that should be continued.

``We should go on with the dialogues and it should not only be limited to discussions by party president (Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) but also, if PAS agrees, cover any issues that suit PAS and Umno.

``It can be based on our intentions to find conclusions that can benefit the ummah (Muslim people) as well as to promote better ties among the multi-racial society in the country,'' he told reporters Saturday after distributing compensation aid to flood victims at the convention hall here.

To a question by a reporter from a Malay daily on which term should be used, whether muzakarah (dialogue or talk) or muqabalah (face-to-face dialogue), Najib, in jest, said there was even some confusion in the terms.

``However, whatever the meanings are, the important thing is for us to have a discussion, find a common ground that can help benefit the people,'' he added.

On the issue involving Terengganu government and its 14 Mercedes-Benzes bought for RM3.43mil, Najib said Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had made the decision that official cars for executive councillors have to be Proton Perdanas and Terengganu must abide by the decision.

``With the decision made, the matter is considered closed.

``There is no need to make a big issue out of it anymore,'' he added.

On the Pahang government's plan to turn the state into a high-speed broadband infrastructure provider offering bandwidth between 30MB and 100MB nationwide, Najib said he had asked the state government to refer the matter to the Water, Energy and Communication Ministry.

Discussions could be made on how to take go about with the proposed project in view of the state government's interest in the proposed project via its state government-linked company, he added.

State Information, Science, Technology and Innovation Committee chairman Datuk Mohd Sharkar Shamsuddin was reported to have said on Friday that the proposed project would be undertaken by a consortium comprising state government-linked company, Pahang Technology Resources Sdn Bhd, and several well-established companies from Japan, South Korea, Hong Kong, Europe and the United States.

Under the project, the state will be the first ICT infrastructure hub in the country with investments estimated at between RM10bil and RM12bil.