Selangor Journal
Menteri Besar Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari delivering his opening speech during the launch of the Selangor Smart City and Digital Economy Convention 2021 (SDEC 2021) at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, Kuala Lumpur, on November 20, 2021. — Picture by AHMAD ZAKKI JILAN/SELANGORKINI

A Message for the New Year from the Menteri Besar

DAWN will soon break in 2022. With each new year, resolutions are made in the hope that better days lie ahead, not just for ourselves but for our family, our friends and our nation.

And so in the spirit of new resolve and determination, we shall seek to better ourselves. Let us be free from all self-doubt as failure is not an option. Should we stumble, we will pick ourselves back up again.

In the final chapter of 2021, Selangor was dealt a bitter blow. The floods that engulfed so many areas in the state took with it years of hard work, cherished mementoes, entire homes and precious lives.

Although criticisms were hurled at us, we kept our grit and continued with the massive work that was ahead. There is no denying our strength as a Malaysian people when we come together in unity regardless of the colour of our skin.

Our brave volunteers and civil servants are working together in the true spirit of ​​camaraderie. Faced with great uncertainty and backbreaking toil, the goodness in their hearts has driven away any doubt that we can overcome our differences when faced with adversity.

I concede that in our rush to provide help, we were not always able to deliver the best. There is no excuse for any shortcomings on our part but it is my promise to keep doing better.

Taking the ‘whole of society’ approach, my administration will ensure that our offer of help to the people will be fulfilled, whether immediately or in the coming days.

We started the Selangor Bangkit flood relief fund on December 28, 2021, which promises RM1,000 for every household that has been affected by the floods.

As of December 30, RM2.5 million has been handed out to the people in the state’s nine districts.

We are also preparing other forms of aid like household essentials and loan deferments and will continue to help in the cleanup of people’s homes and neighbourhoods.

KDEB Waste Management has been tasked with the heavy job of removing all the refuse left by the floods and has doubled up on its efforts to mobilise 3,023 Roll-On, Roll-Off trucks, 224 excavators and 35 rented lorries to transport the 13,000 tonnes of waste to 11 temporary landfills.

Our own volunteer groups Sukarelawan Selangor (SERVE) and Team Selangor have also brought together 2,500 fine individuals who have promised to keep serving.

Indeed, the floods of December 2021 have taught us that it is time for a paradigm shift.

How often the call to protect the environment and to halt the effects of climate change has fallen on deaf ears! For too long, humans have pilfered from nature, forgetting that the only way forward is to coexist in mutual respect.

From the harsh lessons we recently learned, my administration has decided to prioritise climate change in the upcoming First Selangor Plan.

With this, I would like to wish all Malaysians, and especially the people of Selangor, a very Happy New Year. May we dream bigger and better, and work harder in the coming year, God-willing.

DATO’ SERI AMIRUDIN SHARI DATO’ MENTERI BESAR

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