LETTER | When Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak tabled the 2018 Budget earlier this month, many people thought the focus was on capturing Selangor in the 14th general election. Various initiatives and perks appear aimed at winning back the golden state of Malaysia. A week later, Selangor responded well.

Indeed, it has lived up to its billing as the Budget tabled by Menteri Besar Azmin Ali has been nothing short but a complete list of initiatives to empower Selangorians from all walks of life. Building on a stable economic growth by the golden state, Selangor has proven its promise to walk the talk in showing the example of the famous ‘Inisiatif Peduli Rakyat’ policies.

Azmin kick-started his budget speech with a report on Selangor’s strong financial outlook. The state's financial reserve has gone up to RM 3.24 billion despite economic uncertainty and the high cost of living. This is an economic success due to good governance and people-centric policies.

Selangor has shown the example in leading the economic growth and empowering the people with its 2018 budget. 53 percent of the budget allocation will go to development purposes. This is a huge number compared to Federal’s allocation of only a mere 16 percent of the total budget for 2018.

"Inisiatif Peduli Rakyat" or commonly known as IPR, a series of commitments by the state government to ensure the wellbeing of the Selangor people has been given the biggest boost in the 2018 Selangor budget. The present programs under the initiative have been empowered and given extra allocation to serve more people. In addition, several new initiatives and programs have been introduced to improve the well-being and empower Selangor citizens in the midst of the high living cost and the decline in the value of ringgit.

I would like to highlight several initiatives tabled under Selangor 2018 budget that grabbed my attention. Firstly, the much talked about "Skim Peduli Sihat", which has been the hallmark of the IPR programme. Designed to help the middle and lower income groups to receive a better healthcare, Peduli Sihat receives further allocations that allow the recipient to have an extra RM200 in their Peduli Sihat card from the previous RM500.

Further enhancements in the healthcare sector include the partnership of IJN-Selgate aimed at providing free heart treatment for qualified Selangor citizens with an allocation of RM10 million to start with. This is a big move by the state government to combat heart attack which is the main cause of death in Malaysia.

Skim Smart-Sewa that was introduced in the previous budget has been the success story in Selangor. During the "Jelajah Keadilan Smart Win 2.0" with Wanita Keadilan, I came across people from different states talking about Skim Smart Sewa. Unique and successful, this scheme is designed to help young people and middle-income group to buy their first property.

Under this scheme, the state government will return 30 percent of the rental amount to the recipients to help them acquire their first property. With the rising price of properties and the failure of PR1MA to produce affordable housing facilities for youth, Smart Sewa is a masterpiece by the Selangor State Government. With a starting price of RM 42,000, Smart Sewa gives hope to Selangorians to acquire their first property. Where PR1MA fails, Smart Sewa has become the epitome of success in Selangor.

As a woman, I felt rather disappointed when our Prime Minister announced that 2018 will be a year for women's empowerment in Malaysia. He did not walk the talk with his actions. Selangor, however, has taken the baton and led the way.

The establishment of the Women Empowerment Institute and Women Empowerment Centre in Selangor have shown that this state has given women a huge role in nation building. Selangor did not stop there. Selangor introduced Kasih Ibu Smart Selangor (Kiss) Initiative, which gives RM200  each month to all qualified mothers in Selangor. This initiative is to ensure women in Selangor have the power to make decisions for their families. It is the first of its kind in Malaysia and goes a long way to show Selangor’s commitment to empowering women by ensuring their well-being is taken care of.

Selangor’s "Inisiatif Peduli Rakyat" has proven to be helpful for all walks of life during these turbulent times of economic downturn. One could only imagine the effect on all Malaysians had Azmin, instead of Najib, delivered the 2018 Budget in Parliament. With the recent introduction of Adam50, My Brain Bank and Off River Storage by Najib which mirrored Selangor’s exact policies, many people seemed to agree that Azmin’s "Inisiatif Peduli Rakyat" is a proven policy.

After all, as they said, Selangor is the future of Malaysia.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.