GE14 | Selangor BN has pledged to reward 20 sen to shoppers who bring their own bags, as part of the coalition's election manifesto.

The mechanism for this was not spelt out in detail, but it was likely BN's response to the current state government's policy for businesses to levy 20 sen per plastic bag.

The state government had imposed the ruling in early 2017 and it was initially met with public outrage.

Similar policies exist in many developed countries as a means of discouraging plastic bag use and creating awareness on pollution.

BN's manifesto also pledged to improve on policies introduced by Pakatan Harapan and its predecessor, Pakatan Rakyat.

For instance, BN pledged to expand on Selangor's free water scheme - currently free for households using less than 20 cubic metres - by offering rebates for households which use less than 40 cubic metres.

This represents a reversal from Selangor BN's earlier policy, which objected to the scheme because it was not targeted at the poor.

Other pledges to tinker with Pakatan Harapan/Rakyat policies included the increase of Selangor's current RM2,500 cash handout for funeral expenses by RM500, improving the free bus scheme and improving the free wifi hotspot scheme, among others.

Many pledges by Selangor BN were targeted at the poor, such as to abolish summonses for hawkers or petty traders, building nurseries at low-cost housing projects and free school bus rides for PPR residents.