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ALOR STAR: Twelve months is a very short period of time for the Kedah Pakatan Harapan (PH) government to implement all its manifesto, but the state government has never stopped trying to fulfill all its promises for the wellbeing of the people.
In fact, Kedah Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Mukhriz Tun Mahathir (pix) said the state government had been giving consideration to suitable initiatives or programmes that could be quickly implemented to improve the standard of living of the people in the state.
“The entire state Cabinet and I, as well as the state machinery, understand what is important now is the state’s economic growth. If the state economy grows faster, many problems can be solved.
“But we also understand that in order to achieve or improve our household Gross Domestic Products (GNP), for example, it will take some time and one year is definitely not sufficient to see the results of all the efforts we have taken with the cooperation from the federal government,” he told reporters at a recent special media conference in conjunction with the first anniversary of the PH government administration in Kedah at his official residence in Sri Mentaloon here.
The Mentri Besar said all plans were being implemented little by little, but the process would take quite a while and the state government would really appreciate it if the people could understand the situation.
Mukhriz said the state government, however, would not stop the people from raising or reminding the state government of its manifesto and its promises as it is their right to do so.
“We understand the problems faced by the people, such as the rising cost of living and the rising prices of consumer goods, that is why we have applied for the federal government’s aid to implement various programmes aimed to alleviate the burden of the people,” he said.
He said the Kasih Ibu Darul Aman (Kida) programme, for example, was never promised in the manifesto, but still being implemented after taking into account its benefit and positive impact to the people.
Meanwhile, Mukhriz said it was one of his biggest hopes that young Kedahans would no longer have to leave the state in search of job opportunities.
He said that was why he often reminded the state executive councillors to beef up their efforts and only make plans that could provide long-term benefits to the people.
“The people need to feel the benefits now and really see the government efforts, we don’t want the young Kedahans to move to other states to earn a living, they should be with their families and earn a good salary and have a good quality of life in Kedah,” he said.
In a bid to ensure that there will be more job opportunities in Kedah, Mukhriz said he was now focusing on inclusive investment sector and would reject any investment that would burden the state government.
“It is not an investment if we bring in infrastructural projects such as land reclamation for housing or rail link, that is not what we want for Kedah. Here, we want investment to open factories that will provide job opportunities, that’s the real investment,” he said.
Meanwhile, he said the state government was also in the midst of luring universities offering engineering courses to open their campus in Kedah so that more young Kedahans would get the opportunities to attend those courses and meet the demands of the industry players.
“The state government, through Universiti Utara Malaysia, is in the midst of identifying several universities in Japan to open their campus in Kedah and indeed, there are several that are keen on doing so,” he said.
Mukhriz also expressed hope that the dominant agricultural sector in Kedah, that is rice cultivation, would be empowered with the participation of young people and use of the latest technology.
He said the industry should also be given added value, such as by producing fragrant or organic rice that could not only meet the demand from inside, but also from outside the country.
“That’s our plan right now...we have embarked on that work for a year now, I’m confident that we will see the results in the second or third year,” he added. — Bernama
