Najib drops by for 'NASI DAGANG' at roadside stall

PEKAN - Customers who were having breakfast at a 'nasi dagang' stall beside the Kuantan-Pekan road this morning were surprised to find that one of the customers was the country's number one leader.

Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak, who was on his way to attend a mass circumcision ceremony at the Pekan parliamentary level, had asked his convoy to stop by at the stall in Ubai, Pekan to enjoy the 'Nasi Dagang Ubai' which is famous among the residents in Kuantan and Pekan.

He spent almost 20 minutes to enjoy the food and talk to the other customers before visiting another stall nearby.

Najib's presence attracted the attention of members of the public who later took the opportunity to chat and have their photographs taken with the prime minister, who is also the Member of Parliament for Pekan.

In his speech at the Pekan parliamentary level mass circumcision ceremony at the Pekan Convention Hall later, he said the opportunity to have breakfast and mingle with the people was a personal satisfaction for himself.

"For politicians like me, it is not the success of a major policy that gives me satisfaction, but more than that, it is the small thing such as this that gives satisfaction right up to my heart.

"This way, I can get close to the rakyat in a more special way," he said.

Meanwhile, the owner of Warung Nasi Dagang Ubai, Rosli Omar, 52, said that he was proud and happy because the number one national leader was willing to stop by and visit his stall and to chat with him.

"All this while, I only watched the prime minister's convoy pass my stall whenever he had any event in Pekan. However, he had unexpectedly dropped by today and chatted with me," said Rosli who had opened the stall since 1998.

After the circumcision program, Najib also spent about half-an-hour to visit his old friend, Datuk Dr Abdul Manaf Abdullah, 72, who was a former State Assemblyman for Kuala Pahang, at Kampung Mengkasar, here.

According to one of Abdul Manaf's children, Azman Abdul Manaf, 41, although his father was sickly, he could still recognise Najib just by listening to his voice.

"Other than asking about my father, the Prime Minister also had time to recall their past experiences," he told Bernama , here.

Dr Abdul Manaf had served as the State Assemblyman for Kuala Pahang for two terms beginning in 1986.

Prior to this, Azman said, his father had also held the post of Umno Youth head for the Pekan division besides having served as secretary and treasurer for the Pekan Umno division. – Bernama