THE first 100 days in government is more about finding out about the things you can’t do rather than the things you can, said Malacca’s youngest exco Kerk Chee Yee.

“It’s about finding your limitations as a state government, as so many things fall under federal jurisdiction,” Kerk told The Malaysian Insight in the run-up to Pakatan Harapan’s first 100 days in power on Friday.

Malacca is one of five states previously ruled by Barisan Nasional which PH swept in the May 9 elections.

So far, the new state government has managed to impress with several initiatives it rolled out quickly.

In its first 100 days, Malacca announced free parking during the weekends in all four of its municipal councils and lease renewals for property owners.

Next month, it will launch free bus services connecting rural areas to the city, hospitals and transport hubs.

The exco has also decided to table a two-term limit for the chief minister, Kerk said.

“The amendment still needs to be drafted before it’s brought as an amendment in the state legislative assembly.”

Malacca, which is led by Chief Minister Adly Zahari, is the first PH state to announce that it would amend state laws to limit the CM’s tenure to two terms.

Other things are in the pipeline, such as improving the connectivity in Malacca and create more job opportunities, but they will take time, he said.

Malacca along with Kedah, Perak, Negri Sembilan and Johor fell to PH on May 9. This is the first time Malacca, Negri Sembilan and Johor voted out BN at the state level.

In Malacca, PH won four of the six parliamentary seats and 15 out of the 28 state seats.

In 2013, PH’s predecessor, Pakatan Rakyat, won only seven out of the 28 state seats and two federal seats.

Local book distributor Andre Hasbi said PH is still at the honeymoon stage and many voted against BN out of protest.

“For me, it was about BN’s excesses and former prime minister Najib Razak. Many of us didn’t know who these Pakatan candidates were anyway,” said Andre, who runs Thai Kuang Books with his mother.

Andre said voting for PH was about getting rid of a problematic government.

“But the new CM (Adly) looks promising. He seems helpful and is friendly,” said Andre, who supplies books to schools in Malacca.

The previous chief minister was too preoccupied with race policies, he said.

“The previous government only wanted to deal with Bumiputera companies. And if he doesn’t like you, it’s off you go,” said Andre, who is a Peranakan (Malay-Chinese parentage).

“Although, my company is now 71 years old and has been working with the government for decades, they wanted to drop my company because the name was too Chinese,” he said.

But foremost for Andre was the alleged corruption under Najib.

“That was the big push for business people like us who don’t usually like change, to opt for change.” – August 14, 2018.