Exactly nine months after the ‘communitarian economy’ was launched in Selangor by the Pakatan-ruled government, the state has now reached phase two of the welfare programme, announced Menteri Besar Khalid Ibrahim last night.

pakatan rakyat carnival 220309 05 Addressing a crowd of 4,000 people in Stadium Malawati, Shah Alam in conjunction with the first anniversary of Pakatan governance in the state, Khalid said the second phase includes assistance to youth, entrepreneurs and state government servants.

“The state government is planning to assist the entrepreneur groups and youth to improve their lifestyle. These groups need to be given opportunities to start their own businesses or develop their skills in the agricultural field systematically,” he said.

pakatan rakyat carnival 220309 04 For female state government servants, they will be given extra 30 days to their 60-day maternity leave, said Khalid, adding that they could take a leave up to 90 days.

“For the husbands whose wives are on maternity leave, they are entitled to additional leave of seven days to help their wives making it in total of 14 days leave,” said Khalid, drawing cheers and claps from the crowd.

Under the same programme, added Khalid, the state government is developing a concept of “Homes for All”, where every Selangor citizen is entitled to have their own home based on their financial ability.

Welfare programmes ‘not publicised’

“They now can buy their own home, be it a bungalow, terrace or apartments at any appropriate time,” he said.

He however expressed his disappointment the “welfare” done by the state government has never been published in any ‘Barisan-owned’ mainstream media.

“But it is okay if Barisan-owned media do not want to publicise our welfare to the people. The most important thing is, the Selangor people and Malaysians overall are now wise in making their decisions,” said Khalid.

pakatan rakyat carnival 220309 01 Last June, the state government launched ‘communitarian economy’ to make economic growth ‘meaningful’ for the common people and translate them into programmes to protect and promote their welfare.

Last night, the colourful celebration was attended by Opposition Leader and PKR de-facto leader Anwar Ibrahim with wife and PKR president Wan Azizah Wan Ibrahim.

Other state government leaders such as exco members Dr Xavier Jayakumar, Teresa Kok and Hasan Ali were also there to join the celebration.

One year on...how do they feel?

In a poll among the crowd, many expressed their satisfaction with the Pakatan-ruled state government after their one year in power.

For Aminah Said, 72, she said the state government has taken good care of her welfare especially when it comes to the future of her generation.

“The state government said when the elderly citizens die, the heirs are qualified to receive RM2,500 to manage their funeral...I am getting old, and this is exactly what the people need,” said the grandmother of 15 from Klang.

pakatan rakyat carnival 220309 02 She also said that the new state government has successfully helped her in terms of financial aid and this was proven in her change of lifestyle for the better in the past one year.

“The free water given to us does ease our burden a bit. Even though it is not that much, I can transfer some of the money I used to pay for the water bill to something else,” she said.

Meanwhile, 28-year-old Mohamad Zahrin of Petaling Jaya, said even though Pakatan has been in power for only one year, much improvement has been done to the state compared to the previous government.

He said Pakatan is getting more “mature” in its administration despite its young age, adding that he lauded the new scheme of “Homes for All” that has just been planned.

“I’m getting married soon, and this programme will definitely help me in getting a home for me and my wife to move into,” said the accountant.

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