AFTER 18 years of Pakatan Harapan governing Selangor, the rakyat’s cost of living pressures have not eased but instead worsened, especially for women who increasingly shoulder heavy family, financial, and employment burdens. Yet the state government has failed to introduce truly comprehensive and effective assistance policies, causing growing disappointment in Selangor’s so-called “developed state” image.
Amid persistent inflation and economic pressure, many women today are not only required to work to support household finances, but must also care for children and elderly family members and manage household responsibilities at the same time, leaving them physically and mentally exhausted.
Many working women now face double or even triple burdens daily. Salaries cannot keep pace with rising prices, childcare costs continue increasing, and daily expenses are climbing, yet the state government’s response remains clearly insufficient in addressing the real struggles women face.
At the same time, many mothers willing to work are forced to leave the workforce due to inadequate childcare services, high childcare costs, inflexible working arrangements, and weak public transport connectivity, further worsening household financial pressures.
When women are pushed out of the workforce, it not only affects household income but also slows overall economic growth. If the Selangor government truly values women, it must introduce practical policies that genuinely reduce family burdens and encourage female workforce participation instead of relying on slogans.
Selangor Wanita MCA urges the state government to immediately expand affordable childcare centres, strengthen career training and entrepreneurship support for women, promote women-friendly flexible work policies, and increase assistance for single mothers, low-income housewives, and elderly women to help them cope with inflation and return to the workforce.
Beyond women and family-related issues, Selangor’s public healthcare system is also disappointing. Despite being regarded as the country’s wealthiest and most advanced state, one of Selangor’s biggest cities, the densely populated Petaling Jaya, still lacks a fully equipped government hospital, forcing residents to seek treatment elsewhere for years and creating a severely imbalanced healthcare system.
MCA vice-president and Selangor MCA chairman Datuk Lawrence Low recently raised this longstanding issue, pointing out the state government has reneged on its word in failing to construct a public hospital in Petaling Jaya. While the state continuously approves large-scale commercial and high-rise developments, it has neglected the public’s most basic healthcare needs. The excuse of “lack of land” is unacceptable.
What is most ironic is that Petaling Jaya, which claims to be highly developed, is lagging behind even some rural areas in government healthcare facilities. Citizens are paying higher taxes and assessment rates, yet public healthcare services show little improvement.
A truly developed state is not measured by skyscrapers or statistics, but by whether residents’ quality of life genuinely improves. After almost two decades in power, the “still trying” excuse is no longer acceptable. Citizens want results, not branding exercises.
TEE HOOI LING
Selangor Wanita MCA chairman
Wanita MCA National deputy chairman
