Selangor BN Manifesto pledges not empty promises
By: Fadzillah Aishah Ismail
SHAH ALAM, April 17 (Bernama) -- The seemingly endless water crisis in Selangor has reinforced the determination of the Barisan Nasional (BN) to continue trying to recapture the state and take proactive steps to solve the water supply woes, before the situation becomes worse.
This is a well-founded concern especially with the recent exposure of the Energy, Green Technology and Water Ministry that the state's zero water reserve margin is among the causes of the continuing water crisis.
BN is not making empty promises and the pledge to solve the water crisis is one of the main agendas included in the Selangor BN manifesto for the 14th General Election (GE14) announced on April 8 by state BN chairman, Tan Sri Noh Omar.
The 10-point manifesto encompassing 100 initiatives to fulfil five key goals of the party namely Political Stability and a High Performance State Administration; Security, Peace and Prosperity of the People; User-Friendly Infrastructure and Facilities; Progressive, Sustainable, Innovative and Competitive Economy at the Global Level as well as the Integration of the People as the Fundamental Pillar in the Sustainability of the Socio-Economic Development.
Selangor BN also pledged to finalise the water restructuring industry for the comfort and well-being of the people.
Many people think that what the Selangor people have to suffer due to the snobbishness of the state government, which is not serious in dealing with the crisis despite having administered the state for almost 10 years, is already enough.
This is coupled with the attitude of Selangor Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali who likes to blame the BN-ruled federal government in relation to the water crisis in the state.
During the launching of the manifesto, Noh said water issues in Selangor were close to his heart. Hence, he was determined to immediately conclude the restructuring of the water industry, which has been deliberately delayed by Mohamed Azmin.
Apart from the solution to the water crisis, the Selangor BN is also focusing on the provision of housing programmes and the construction of more affordable homes for the people of Selangor, which the current state government failed to implement.
Among the initiatives are the construction of 50,000 units of affordable housing; reviving abandoned housing projects; 10 per cent discount for first house purchase under RM200,000; construction of 6,000 units of youth transit homes, and hire purchase scheme for People's Housing Programme (PPR).
According to Noh, the Selangor government's policy inconsistencies caused many abandoned housing projects in the state, in addition to the failure to build affordable homes and the weaknesses of the state government had placed Selangor as the state with the highest number of abandoned housing projects in the country.
Commenting on BN's pledge, political analyst Che Hamdan Che Mohd Razali said it was a reflection on the current problems faced by people in Selangor especially in relation to water and housing problems, which were not well addressed by the PKR-led state government.
The senior lecturer at the Faculty of Administrative Science and Policy Studies of the Universiti Teknologi MARA (UiTM) Raub Campus, Pahang, said the pledge of Selangor BN to finalise the restructuring of the water industry was crucial to solve the endless crisis.
"In addition, as the fastest-growing and most populous state, housing facilities and benefits are also the main focus in the Selangor BN manifesto.
"The seriousness in identifying the real problems and the opportunities that are available in the Selangor BN pledge for the coming general election, such as the M40 special housing programme and special fund to repair dilapidated houses in rural areas as well as housing projects for youth, imam and civil servants should be celebrated by all quarters to ensure the well-being of the people," he told Bernama.
Selangor has 2,415,074 registered voters, the highest in the country, to cast their votes on May 9.
Themed 'Better Selangor Yakinlah. BN Lebih Baik!', the manifesto was realistic and placed equal emphasis on the needs of urban and rural communities.
Che Hamdan said the manifesto showed the Selangor BN's determination to redress the weakness of the state government.
"The manifesto has detailed the current needs of the people, who have been under the PKR-ruled state government for two terms. It needs to be distributed to the people wisely in order to meet the goals in shaping the sustainability of Selangor's socio-economic development," he said.
-- BERNAMA
