WITH the state polls, which was held concurrently with the 15th General Election done and dusted over the weekend, a new Perak government has been formed by Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan.
Kota Tampan assemblyman Datuk Seri Saarani Mohamad was sworn in as the 15th Perak Mentri Besar at Istana Iskandariah in Kuala Kangsar yesterday.
Even before the state government was formed officially, the people already knew what they wanted from their elected representatives.
Those who spoke to StarMetro want to see the state government give their sole focus to continuing development of the state and cut the politicking.
An administrator, who wished to be known only as Kaylee, 29, said she wanted a stable state government that she could count on.
“During the two previous general elections, no political coalitions truly have the majority, and we then saw assemblymen switching sides to form the state government.
Commuters want a more efficient public transport system in Perak.
“I felt disappointed because we the people had fulfilled our duty to vote, yet the outcome is more or less the same,” she said.
“Right now I just want a stable government. I want Perak to move forward and focus on development for the sake of our future,” she added.
Kaylee, who voted in Teja state constituency, said more should be done to upgrade public transport services in Perak.
“The buses are terribly irregular.
“Previously, a bus would come every 20 minutes but now, we have to wait more than an hour sometimes before one appears.
“Teja is not that far from Ipoh, yet our public transport is not up to par,” she said.
“I sincerely hope that the new state government will focus on improving the public transport service here.
“The government should also see to it that the light rail transit (LRT), or the autonomous rail rapid transit, project is realised,” said Kaylee.
Businesses affected by the ongoing road construction along Jalan Tambun hope the work will be completed soon.
In the recently concluded state polls, PAS won 17 seats and Bersatu nine for the Perikatan coalition.
Under Pakatan, DAP won 18 seats, PKR five and Amanah one while Barisan Nasional’s nine seats were won by Umno (eight) and MCA (one).
Meanwhile, restaurant owner Nabihah Mahayuddin, 28, from Tambun, hopes that the new state government will ensure that its government departments and local councils will improve their efficiency.
She said many people were still unaware of some services that were available to them.
“For instance, some of the traders I met did not know they had to fill in a form at the Ipoh City Council if they wished to have their garbage collected by the city council,” she said.
She added that the elected state representatives should also give some focus to helping petty traders.
“I think there needs to be a website created for the sole purpose of informing the public about services and schemes that are available to us,” said Nabihah.
“Another concern among food business owners is the never-ending road repair works.
“Many of us along Jalan Tambun have to bear the losses in our businesses after the main road was closed without any notice for road construction.
She added that businesses lost thousands of ringgit in profits because of the road closure.
“We really hope that the state government can help expedite the repair works,” Nabihah said.
Engineer Abiel Yeoh, 35, said he had been frustrated by how members of the state government allowed their differences to take precedence over serving the people.
Yeoh is frustrated by how elected representatives let their differences to take priority over serving the people.
As a result, Yeoh said he never paid attention to any of the pledges in the various political candidates’ election manifesto, describing them as mere populist moves in order to win votes.
“I have seen how a lot of plans for the rakyat never materialised, due to fickle execution.
“The state government has been on volatile ground in the past few years.
“I feel most of them were more busy planning their own manoeuvres instead of focusing on the rakyat,” he said.
Yeoh hopes to see a state government that can “buckle down and work together”.
“I have been reading how the country is recording stronger economic growth but I do not think a lot of us are gaining anything from that.
“So, I want to see how the state government can ensure that the people enjoy the benefits from this economic growth.
“For starters, they can use their own manifesto as a guide,” he said.
Malaysia Budget Hotel Association (MyBHA) Perak chapter chairman Zamari Muhyi was also of the opinion that the new state government should focus more on the economic issues faced by the people.
“Do remember that the rakyat is sick of endless politicking.
“When the people have already voted for their representatives, then it is time that the elected persons start working towards what the people want,” he said.
“It should no longer be about the party or any other personal interest,” he stressed.
Zamari said he would expect to see the new Perak government come up with solutions to counter issues such as higher cost of living and burdensome taxes, besides finding ways to improve the gross domestic product (GDP) amid the global economic uncertainty.
On top of strengthening the economy, marketing lead Lew Mei Yen, 30, who is based in Taiping, hopes for a state government that will practise good governance.
“I want to see more transparency in terms of budget spending.
“People should be informed of how the state government is spending the allocations, the progress of projects that have been announced and basically how public funds are being used for the benefit of other segments in society,” she said.
She also wants to see a state government that will advocate for citizenship rights to be given to children born to Malaysian women overseas.
In addition, she hopes the state government will be receptive towards initiatives to increase the minimum wage for both local and foreign workers in Malaysia.
