All out to bring the rakyat back to the fold
Winning greater public support for his administration remains the Perak menteri besar’s biggest challenge, writes ZUBAIDAH ABU BAKAR
Zambry’s challenge now is to increase support for the BN government among Malays, who have begun returning to the fold, as well as the non-Malay voters who had supported the opposition in the last general election.
New Straits Times
DATUK Seri Dr Zambry Abdul Kadir’s jubilant expression showed it all.
The worried look on his face was gone; indeed, he was all smiles when the Perak state assembly adjourned sine die after passing the 2010 state budget, which had goodies for everyone, on Wednesday.
But the menteri besar was not completely convincing in brushing aside his nervousness at having to face the opposition’s representatives for the second time earlier that day.
“I am calm,” he said when met at his office some two hours before he was to table his maiden budget.
“I came early as usual, went through some papers that are not Dewan papers (documents for the assembly sitting).”
Zambry reportedly arrived at the menteri besar’s office at Bangunan Perak Darul Ridzwan about an hour earlier, something not unusual — coming early to office has been Zambry’s practice since the day he became the menteri besar. Zambry’s expression as he got ready for the big day did not reflect the calmness he claimed; facial expressions are often deceiving.
One journalist covering the assembly sitting mentioned that the Kuala Dipang bridge tragedy on Monday night had also contributed to Zambry’s worried look. Whatever the case, the MB’s big smile when entering the assembly hall could not hide that he was far from “calm”.
But who wouldn’t be worried, in Zambry’s shoes?
The statements made by Pakatan Rakyat lawmakers the preceding week had indicated that their presence in the house would be to disrupt the proceedings.
They were not bothered about the people who had voted them in as representatives. They refused to play their roles as the opposition while waiting for the courts to decide on their claim to be the legitimately elected state government.
Their symbolic fight for control of the house after being ousted as the state government in February had not brought any benefit to their constituents.
Pakatan assemblymen, led by Pasir Panjang assemblyman and ousted menteri besar Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin, have made their case loud and clear using legal avenues and, therefore, should try to behave like elected representatives in the house until these matters are resolved by the courts.
Perakians are indeed lucky that the sitting was nothing like the riotous assembly on May 7, for unruly behaviour could have resulted in non-approval of the state budget. Had this happened, the people of Perak would have been at the losing end, as the allocations in the budget are meant to improve their living standards.
The Pakatan representatives did cause distractions, though, when they held their own separate proceedings in the same hall simultaneously, passing three motions calling for:
– all 1Malaysia and National Service camps to be suspended following the Kuala Dipang bridge tragedy;
– the dissolution of the assembly; and,
– the appointment of former Perak PKR chairman Osman Abdul Rahman as a senator in the Dewan Negara.
The state assembly passed a RM23 million deficit budget in 30 minutes after Zambry presented the simplified version of the budget, which he described as “people-centric”, providing direct assistance to the Perak people.
The budget was successfully passed with approving votes from all 28 Barisan Nasional assemblymen and three Pakatan defectors in the 59-seat assembly. Pakatan’s 28 representatives did not vote, as they did not want to endorse the BN administration.
Programmes and projects outlined in the budget, based on estimated revenues of RM715.69 million against total expenditure of RM739.58 million, are hoped to improve the livelihoods of Perakians regardless of race.
There is a Perak Education Fund in the offing, which would give every child born in Perak next year RM200 to be saved towards their education, likely to be deposited in the National Education Savings Scheme, an insurance scheme for senior citizens, along with a RM2 million budget for the empowerment of youth.
A sum of RM3 million has been allocated for the running of childcare centres in government departments and agencies, starting with the State Secretariat.
Allowances will be increased for religious (Kafa) teachers and mosque officials, among measures to ease the people’s financial burdens.
Among non-Islamic affairs allocations, the state’s Sikh community has been been allocated RM500,000, while the nine independent Chinese schools in the state will be given RM400,000 each. More is in store to benefit all groups in the Perak community.
“It’s not easy to please everybody,” says Kubu Gajah assemblyman Raja Datuk Ahmad Zainuddin Raja Omar, “but the BN government is making efforts to reach out to the people who feel they had been neglected in the past.”
Raja Ahmad Zainuddin observes that the state government wants to ensure fairness in serving all races.
Zambry’s challenge now is to increase support for the BN government among Malays, who have begun returning to the fold, as well as the non-Malay voters who had supported the opposition in the last general election.
According to Mohammad Mustafa Ishak, a professor in politics and international studies at Universiti Utara Malaysia, Zambry “needs to prove to non-Malays that the government he now leads is not trying to undo what had been done by the former Pakatan government, but only focusing on how to further improve things for the people”.
How far Zambry’s budget will impact those who left BN to support the opposition in the last general election remains to be seen. – New Straits Times
