PM shows ability to lead government well in first 100 days

KUALA LUMPUR: Ever since he was appointed to lead the federal government on Nov 24 last year, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim has shown his ability to manage the country well through 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 those in the B40 group.

A random interview with the people in Cherok Tok Kun and Permatang Pauh, in Penang, found that most of them agreed that the Prime Minister's efforts in the three months of his governance of the country as 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 (STR), were given to help the people.

"I feel that the STR this time is more aimed at the right groups, taking into consideration the number of children in each household while the Menu Rahmah is also one of the good initiatives for people who cannot afford to buy food," a 45-year-old food stall operator, Mohd Fahmi Mohd Noor, said.

He said petty traders were also not left out of receiving help through the Budget announcement and he believes it could help boost the business of hawkers and petty traders.

Mohd Fahmi said he also believed that Anwar, who is the Tambun member of parliament, will implement more efforts and initiatives in the future to help the 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 the spirit of unity among Malaysians.

She said it is known that Anwar has always cared about the spirit of unity among the people and when he became Prime Minister he continued and introduced the concept of MADANI nation to the people.

"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 Perai.

Meanwhile, a public university student from Ipoh, Perak, Nuriah Jamal, 19, said there have been several changes in the 100 days of Anwar's administration and these can be seen during the tabling of Budget 2023, last Friday.

Nuriah said among these is the Rahmah e-wallet credit of RM200 for youth aged 18 to 20 years old.

"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 (EFT) to the state governments compared to RM70 million last year.

"Apart from this, the introduction of Rahmah Menu 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.

Bernama's observations on social media also found that the netizens welcomed the economic recovery initiatives, especially the Rahmah Menu which not only benefitted consumers but also gave extraordinary profits to traders.

"Thanks to Rahmah Menu, the 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 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.

"People's money has been looted for decades. This time justice has been done. Whoever hates Datuk Seri Anwar, then he is the corrupt person," another Facebook user by the name of Raja Gelap posted.

-- BERNAMA