Free parking v affordable housing: Rival parties vie for Selangor voters ahead of polls
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Perikatan Nasional chairman Muhyiddin Yassin unveiling the coalition's manifesto for Selangor in Shah Alam on Aug 4.
ST PHOTO: ZUNAIRA SAIEED
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SHAH ALAM – Opposition alliance Perikatan Nasional (PN) has unveiled a populist election manifesto worth RM2 billion (S$592 million) to win over voters in Malaysia’s richest state of Selangor. But analysts say its plans are unsustainable in the long run, compared with those of caretaker state government Pakatan Harapan (PH).
Among the promises unveiled by PN on Friday night are free council parking in northern Selangor and licence fee exemptions for hawkers and traders.
The alliance also pledged to extend an existing scheme of free water supply of up to 20 cubic m monthly to households with a monthly income of below RM15,000, up from RM5,000 currently.
PN’s other pledges if it wins the state at the polls on Aug 12
During the manifesto launch in state capital Shah Alam, the alliance’s chairman Muhyiddin Yassin said: “I would like to stress that PN’s offerings are feasible and realistic, thanks to the expertise and experience of our leaders in Selangor. We are confident that these initiatives can be fulfilled quickly, efficiently and effectively.”
He added: “The winds of change are blowing strongly in Selangor, and hopefully they will form a big wave in the form of strong and solid support from the people for PN.”
PN is hoping to make significant inroads into Selangor,
Analysts say while PN’s manifesto may alleviate cost of living concerns in the short term, it lacks the long-term plans to address funding as well as voter concerns over issues such as quality jobs, health services and infrastructure.
“The issue is, where are they going to get the money from? PN ambitions to implement these RM2 billion initiatives in ‘grand scale’ promises may deplete Selangor’s reserves, and PN has only mentioned broad strokes with no finer details and has not introduced anything original,” said Mr Halmie Azrie Abdul Halim, a senior analyst at government regulatory affairs and political risk consultancy Vriens and Partners.
He added that Selangor residents are looking for continuation of opportunities and progressive policies that will spur growth for the state, and also responsible fiscal management of its coffers.
BowerGroupAsia director Arinah Najwa said PN’s incentives may not be enough for Selangor residents to switch from supporting PH.
“Selangor is a resource-rich state with a lot of urban or semi-urban seats, and it would need a strong dissatisfaction with PH for them to switch,” she added.
PH will be contesting the election with its unity government ally and former foe Barisan Nasional. Their joint manifesto that was unveiled on July 31 includes key pledges such as providing 100,000 high-income job opportunities, fully digitalising government services and providing homes priced below RM250,000 each.
“The unity government’s manifesto is about good governance, frugal spending, long-term foreign capital investment,” said Mr Halmie.
Former Selangor chief minister and Selangor PN chairman Azmin Ali said on Friday that PN’s spending plans in its manifesto are “realistic” as the state government’s annual revenue was more than RM2 billion in 2017. Datuk Seri Azmin, a former deputy president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat under the PH coalition, served as chief minister from 2014 to 2018.
He also questioned why millions of ringgit are kept by Selangor’s local authorities in reserves when they could be spent on repairing amenities such as drains, playgrounds and lifts. One of PN’s manifesto pledges is to allocate RM200 million per year to repair and replace damaged water pipes.
“These manifestos that we offer to Selangor residents will be carried out tomorrow if the coalition wins Selangor today,” he said.
