GE15: Public holiday for Malaysia if Perikatan wins polls, says Muhyiddin

PETALING JAYA: Perikatan Nasional will declare Nov 20 (Sunday) a public holiday for Kedah, Kelantan, Terengganu and Johor if it wins the 15th General Election, says coalition chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin.

For other states, Perikatan pledges to make Nov 21 (Monday) a public holiday, added Muhyiddin.

"This will allow voters from other states to come out and cast their ballots without having to apply for holiday on Sunday or Monday," said Muhyiddin in a speech during the launch of Perikatan manifesto themed 'Prihatin, Bersih, Stabil' (caring, clean, stable) on Sunday (Nov 6) night.

Muhyiddin said he was aware that many Malaysians wanted to vote on polling day (Nov 19).

"This includes voters who had to cast their ballots in their respective hometowns or at places which are not their place of residence," added Muhyiddin.

Muhyiddin said offers made by Perikatan in the manifesto were achievable, given their previous experience as government.

"We will ensure that all these offers can be implemented efficiently and effectively with the support of the civil service, government agencies, GLCs, and the private sector," said Muhyiddin.

Among the highlights of Perikatan’s election pledges were its plans to ensure comprehensive economic recovery.

Muhyiddin said Perikatan wanted to set up a RM5bil special fund to encourage investment, as part of its efforts to make Malaysia the centre of South-East Asia’s economy that was based on future industries.

To stimulate national economic recovery, Muhyiddin said Perikatan wanted to continue targeted moratoriums to assist affected micro SMEs.

"Besides that, a special incentive - Skim Prihatin micro SME - will be set up to encourage the digitalisation of product manufacturing, services, as well as skills training," added Muhyiddin.

According to Muhyiddin, Perikatan also pledged to create one million high-income jobs in the coming years.

"We will ensure that Malaysians get job opportunities, especially in the high-income sector," he said.

Muhyiddin also said RM1bil would be allocated for a "Fund for Food" initiative in order to increase the manufacturing of food supplies and to stabilise food prices in the country.

"Some people asked us, is this possible? I say this is possible. Why? Because we have experience," said Muhyiddin.

Muhyiddin said when he was formerly the prime minister, he had chaired the national employment council (NEC), which created 558,000 job opportunities last year, surpassing the 500,000 target it initially set.

"I believe if Perikatan is once again given the mandate by Malaysians, we can do this and we will do even better," he added.

Muhyiddin also credited Perikatan for being able to save 163,000 companies and three million jobs during the economic crisis brought about by the Covid-19 pandemic.

"Imagine if three million jobs were lost, what would happen to these workers and their families? Can they support their families if they lose their source of income? It is a very difficult answer," said Muhyiddin.

"With the wage subsidy initiative implemented by the Perikatan government, hundreds of companies benefited and millions of jobs were saved and millions of family members had food on their table," added Muhyiddin.

In Perikatan’s manifesto, it also pledged to expedite the process of hiring foreign workers for critical sectors, as well as creating one million high-income job opportunities in the digital economy sector in a period of five years.