KUALA LUMPUR – Ever since he was appointed to lead the federal government on November 24 last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has shown his ability to manage the country well through the various efforts and strategies undertaken.
In just 100 days, Anwar’s unity government has successfully won the people’s attention with several initiatives focused on the less fortunate, especially the poor, the needy, and the B40.
A random interview with people in Cherok Tok Kun and Permatang Pauh, in Penang, found that most of them agreed that the prime minister’s efforts in his first three months are something to be proud of.
“We see that since Anwar became prime minister, he took immediate action to help the people, and then through the recent tabling of Budget 2023 various initiatives, including the Rahmah Cash Aid scheme, were given to help the people.
“I feel that the Rahmah Cash Aid this time is more aimed at the right groups – taking into consideration the number of children in each household – while Menu Rahmah is also one of the good initiatives for people who cannot afford to buy food,” said 45-year-old food stall operator Mohd Fahmi Mohd Noor.
He said petty traders were also not left out of receiving help through the budget and he believes it could help boost business for hawkers and petty traders.
Fahmi said he also believed that Anwar, who is Tambun MP, will implement more efforts and initiatives in the future to help people affected by the Covid-19 pandemic.
Meanwhile, Norhasfizah Mustaffa, 40, said among the various efforts, initiatives, and programmes introduced by Anwar, she was more attracted to the concept of Malaysia Madani – which is one of the efforts to cultivate unity among Malaysians.
She said it is known that Anwar has always cared about the people’s unity and when he became prime minister he continued and introduced the concept of a “Madani nation”.
“I am happy with the Madani concept as it can foster the spirit of togetherness, unity, and well-being among Malaysians. This to some extent can help improve the country,” said the engineer, who works at a factory in Prai.
Meanwhile, a public university student from Ipoh, Perak, Nuriah Jamal, 19, said there have been several changes in the first 100 days of Anwar’s administration and these can be seen during last Friday’s tabling of Budget 2023.
Nuriah said among these is the Rahmah e-wallet credit of RM200 for youth aged 18 to 20.
“This initiative is an annual government initiative. So, to some extent, it can help ease the burden of youth like us to cope with the rising cost of living,” she said when met at a supermarket here today.
Meanwhile, environmental activist Hafizudin Nasarudin, 35, praised Anwar for also focusing on environmental issues when he provided an additional allocation of RM150 million a year for Ecological Fiscal Transfer for Biodiversity Conservation to state governments, compared to RM70 million last year.
“Apart from this, the introduction of Menu Rahmah can also to some extent reduce the burden of the people, especially the B40 group.
“Throughout these 100 days, there are various good results that need to be praised and it is hoped that this momentum will be sustained and improved,” said Hafizudin, who voted in the Tambun parliamentary constituency.
Observations on social media also found that the netizens welcomed the economic recovery initiatives, especially Menu Rahmah, which not only benefits consumers but also gives extraordinary profits to traders.
“Thanks to Menu Rahmah, sales are booming… thank you unity government!” Facebook user Kamal Hero Malaya posted.
Meanwhile, there are also those who support Anwar’s firmness and consistency in fighting corruption, which he often describes as a “cancer” that needs to be treated for the sake of national development.
“In the eyes of the corrupt, Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim is really bad. But in our eyes, this is the prime minister we want.
“The people’s money has been looted for decades. This time justice has been done. Whoever hates Datuk Seri Anwar… is a corrupt person,” another Facebook user by the name of Raja Gelap posted. – Bernama, March 3, 2023
