SHAH ALAM: Should Perikatan Nasional take over the state government, some 100,000 quality jobs will be created for the people of Selangor, says Datuk Seri Azmin Ali.
“We promise quality jobs for the people as they should not be unskilled labourers.
“I brought hi-tech investment to Selangor during the Perikatan administration under Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin when I was in charge of the International Trade and Industry Ministry,” the incumbent Bukit Antarabangsa assemblyman said in his speech during the Selangor Perikatan convention yesterday in preparations for the upcoming state polls.
Azmin, who is state Perikatan chief election strategist, also assured the people of Selangor that there would be no flip-flops as investors would avoid those who made U-turns over policies.
His remarks appeared to target Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim, who recently said he did not mind flip-flopping if it was for the benefit of the people.
Azmin also reminded coalition members that when he was the Selangor mentri besar back in 2017, he had introduced schemes for the benefit of the people.
“When I was the MB, the state government had a reserve of RM3.62bil. I allocated 52% of expenditures for development.
“No other state had given such a big percentage for develoment,” he said while taking a swipe at the recently launched Madani health scheme for the B40 group.
“Last week, the Health Minister introduced the scheme with a RM100mil allocation for the whole country.
“I introduced Peduli Sihat with 1,000 private clinics six years ago and allocated RM125mil for the people of Selangor alone,” he said.
Azmin said Selangor needs leaders, not attention-seekers who are busy singing, riding bicycles or cows, as videos of Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional leaders were shown to the cheers of coalition members.
He also reminded Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari that he had proposed him (Amirudin) to the Palace when the PKR leadership, back in 2018, did not.
Separately, Muhyiddin, the Perikatan chairman, urged Perikatan candidates to meet voters as soon as their names have been agreed upon by coalition leaders.
The Bersatu president and former prime minister said this was because the short campaigning period was not enough for the densely populated urban state constituencies of Selangor.
He also said Selangor Perikatan machinery must cover all areas, even if the areas were once “black” for Perikatan in the last general election.
“Selangor may be the most developed state but its people are the ones who struggle the most when there is inflation.
“Whoever runs Selangor needs to be wise as it is an urban and fully developed state. People have to struggle more to survive unlike those in rural areas,” he said.
PAS vice-president Datuk Idris Ahmad also spoke to the crowd, saying that the current unity government was “desperate for Malay support”.
“Any country that wants political stability must get the support of the majority. But Malays, which are the majority race, supported Perikatan in the last general election,” he said.
Selangor dissolved its state assembly on Friday and is due to hold its state election within the next 60 days.
