Not easy to fulfil election pledges within 100 days: Malaysia DPM Wan Azizah
Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister Dr Wan Azizah and Prime Minister Mahathir Mohamad at a rally ahead of the 14th general election in Langkawi, Malaysia (Photo: AFP)
KUALA LUMPUR: Malaysia's Deputy Prime Minister Wan Azizah Ismail on Thursday (Aug 16) said it was "not easy" to deliver all the pledges in the Pakatan Harapan election manifesto within 100 days.
“It’s a work in progress and it’s not easy because when we took over, we did not have enough information to find out how deep the problems were," Dr Wan Azizah told reporters at Malaysia's parliament lobby.
“I’m not giving excuses. We know we should not stop based on the fact that we have not met the target. But we are trying."
The deadline for Pakatan Harapan's delivery of its pledges is on Saturday.
The process of fulfilling the pledges of the election manifesto within 100 days has not gone smoothly, said Dr Wan Azizah, adding that the government is trying its best.
In its manifesto ahead of the May 9 election, Pakatan Harapan had promised 10 things it hoped to achieve within the first 100 days in government.
These included promises such as re-introducing fuel subsidies for targeted groups, postponing repayments to the National Higher Education Fund Corporation for those earning less than RM4,000 a month, abolishing FELDA settlers' debts and standardising the minimum wage across the country.
READ: 10 promises in 100 days: Pakatan Harapan’s countdown timer starts now
Dr Wan Azizah, who is also Women, Family and Community Development Minister, said the ministry has fulfilled one of the pledges, which was the voluntary contribution by housewives to the Employees Provident Fund (EPF).
The i-Suri scheme was launched on Wednesday. Under the scheme, recipients need to make a minimum contribution of RM5 (US$1.20) to enable them to receive the government’s incentive of RM40 a month in their EPF accounts, EPF services chief Normila Sami told the New Straits Times.
Commenting on the 100-day pledge, Deputy Defence Minister Liew Chin Tong said the it does not hinge on the detailed policies but on the overall direction of the country which the people accepted.
Transport Minister Anthony Loke, meanwhile, said it is challenging for Pakatan Harapan to achieve certain targets, but the party has shown that it is able to govern and make a peaceful transition from the previous government.
“We’re more transparent and more responsive to public sentiment. We will continue to govern transparently," he said.
"Any governing party hopes to govern as long as possible, but we have to remember that we have to be fair and continue to be clean and trustworthy to gain the support of the people because that mandate will be given by the people. We have to perform."
