Actor Kal Penn, in his real-life role as community liaison for the Obama administration, appeared in Honolulu yesterday to urge Hawaiians to continue their work and help "bring change to Hawai'i and to this country."

Penn, who goes by his real name of Kalpen Suresh Modi when representing the president, embraced the theme of this year's Native Hawaiian Convention, "Making Our Future Now," noting that it's similar to Barack Obama's 2008 campaign theme.

Modi, best known as Kumar in the "Harold and Kumar" film comedies, left a recurring role in the TV series "House" after President Obama tapped him to become associate director for the Office of Public Engagement, to act as a liaison between the administration and the Asian and Pacific communities.

"There will be no magic light switch that fixes the problems that took so long to create," Modi told the gathering at the Hawai'i Convention Center. "But it's the tireless work that each of you do that makes this real change possible — the community organizing, the letter writing, the passionate dialogue, the discussion and the direct action that yields results."

Modi reiterated the president's strong support of the Akaka bill, which would create a process that could lead to a Native Hawaiian government entity that would be recognized and negotiate with the federal government. That's a departure from the opposition posed by the Bush administration.

Conference attendee Derek Kauanoe, a fellow with the Ka Huli Ao Center for Excellence in Native Hawaiian Law at the William S. Richardson School of Law, was among those who met with Modi before yesterday's public remarks.

"The message he brought to us was that President Barack Obama wants to make sure that people out in Hawai'i and the Native Hawaiian community are heard," Kauanoe said. "He really wants to know what's going on."

Also yesterday, U.S. Sen. Daniel K. Inouye, D-Hawai'i, released a statement announcing that he will push to make more federal resources available to Native Hawaiian groups in the same way that such money is made available to Native Americans and Alaska Natives.

Inouye, who left Honolulu yesterday to attend funeral services for Sen. Edward M. Kennedy, D-Massachusetts, in Boston today, said he intends to keep his promise not take away from resources available to those groups, but to seek more funding for Hawaiians.

Inouye said he also wants to establish new "set asides" for Native American Indians, Alaska Natives and Native Hawaiians in the areas of renewable energy and broadband technology.