SOME of the initiatives announced by the Prime Minister Najib Razak today have already been introduced by the Selangor government, Mentri Besar Mohamed Azmin Ali after the tabling of Budget 2018 in Dewan Rakyat today.

For example, the introduction of Adam50, a scheme to provide Malaysian babies born from January 1, 2018 to 2022 with initial a savings fund of RM200 through PNB Unit Trust Scheme is similar to the Tabung Warisan Anak Selangor (Tawas), a programme introduced by Selangor in 2008.

“We introduced the same fund a few years ago and now the prime minister is following our footsteps by introducing Adam50. We have introduced Brain Bank and now the prime minister is introducing MyBrain at the national level,” said Azmin.

He said the government initiative to build off-river storage also mimicked what has been implemented by Selangor government.

Azmin, who is also Gombak MP, also criticised the government for its “small allocation” given to the Technical and Vocational Education Training (TVET) and says that Selangor is going to spend almost 10 times more to boost TVET.

“I am shocked with the allocation of only RM4.5 million given. How are we going to train our youths to obtain the skills and talents required to fulfill the demands of the industry? Only RM4.5 million has been given whilst Selangor is allocating RM50 million,” said Azmin.

He also questioned how the government going to boost economic growth when operating expenditure is 84% of the budget.

As for the government’s move to abolish two tolls in Selangor, Azmin said it was a “win” for the people of Selangor.

“I would like to congratulate the people of Selangor for their courage to stand up and demand their rights. The toll abolishment is a reward for them after years of fighting. The federal government has finally bowed to the Selangor people,” he said. – October 27, 2017.