By Yasmin Ramlan
BANGI, Nov 6 — The Selangor government has fulfilled all five of its election promises that it pledged to accomplish within 100 days of coming into power, weeks ahead of schedule.
This is following the official launch of the Kita Selangor book vouchers today by Dato’ Seri Amirudin Shari, just 76 days after he took his oath of office to serve as the state Menteri Besar for a second term.
“With the launch of this e-voucher, we’ve successfully delivered on our 100-day pledge within 76 days, reaffirming our strong commitment to accomplishing all five promises in the 15th state assembly term,” he said in his officiating speech at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Bangi, today.
Amirudin said 1,000 students who are currently pursuing their education at public and private universities in the state will receive the Kita Selangor e-vouchers worth RM200 each from the Menteri Besar Selangor (Incorporated), or MBI.
To ensure the incentive reaches the targeted group, MBI has collaborated with nine higher education institutions to identify qualified students.
They are the Selangor Technical Skill Development Centre, Universiti Selangor, Universiti Islam Selangor, Universiti Teknologi Mara, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, Universiti Putra Malaysia, Universiti Islam Antarabangsa Malaysia, Universiti Tenaga Nasional and Universiti Multimedia.
Representatives from the participating universities were present to receive the vouchers at today’s ceremony.
The RM200,000 e-voucher allocation from MBI is part of its corporate social responsibility efforts to support students by facilitating the purchase of books and encouraging a reading culture.
Commenting on the distribution of the vouchers, Amirudin emphasised the importance of supporting young talents, noting that Selangor produces a substantial number of graduates each year, averaging around 40,000.
He added that the decision to distribute digital vouchers, instead of physical ones, aligns with the goal to turn Selangor into a Smart State by 2025. The move also prevents resales of vouchers.
Eligible students can purchase their books online through Perbadanan Kota Buku at https://mall.bookcapital.com.my. Redemption period ends on December 31, 2023.
Previously on October 4, Amirudin announced that three of the five 100-day pledges will be implemented by month-end, namely assessment tax exemptions for village homes and low-cost housing; increase in allowances for imams, bilal, and siak; and RM1,000 incentives to 500 farmers, padi cultivators, and fishermen.
Later on October 26, the state launched the MamaKerja Incentive, which provides RM1,000 in financial aid to 5,000 working mothers to subsidise the cost of childcare, effectively fulfilling its fourth election promise.
Today’s e-voucher launch means the Selangor government has fulfilled all five pledges.
Meanwhile, Amirudin said the upcoming 2024 Selangor Budget, which will be tabled on November 10, will focus on the five core aspects of the Tekad Kita Selangor manifesto to bolster the state’s economy and resilience.
“At the state level, we want to empower these core aspects to ensure we become a resilient state and ready to move forward for the sake of our economy and the people’s livelihood.
“In the next few days I will table the state budget for 2024 and it will empower these key areas,” he said.
The five key themes under Tekad Kita Selangor are Thriving Economy and Quality Education; Religion as the Light and Source of Inspiration; Efficient and Effective Government Services; Selangor as a State which Cares and Upholds the Interests of All Selangorians; and Sustainable, Comfortable and Liveable Development.
