Push for progress: (From left) DAP Jelapang assemblyman Cheah Pou Hin, Zamri, Teh, Ahmad Bashah, Tan, Said Ali and Ipoh Timur MP Howard Lee attending the launch of the Greater Alor Setar Aspiration manifesto.
ALOR SETAR: Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional candidates contesting in Alor Setar areas launched Greater Alor Setar Aspiration (GASA) as part of their state election manifesto.
Encompassing a regional radius of roughly 40 minutes’ drive out of Alor Setar city centre into the rural pockets, the candidates committed themselves to lobbying for advancements in tourism, social and cultural rebranding, economic development, and public infrastructure leading to an enhanced urban life quality that includes digitalisation.
GASA covers an area of almost 650sq km that includes nine state constituencies that surround Alor Setar city and is within the parliamentary constituencies of Alor Setar, Kuala Kedah and Pokok Sena.
As the area covers vast tracts of level plains that include padi fields, GASA will include plans to see the area become a hub for the nation’s food security and renewable energy production.
At a press conference announcing GASA attended by leaders of Barisan and Pakatan here yesterday, Alor Setar Umno division chief Datuk Seri Ahmad Bashah Md Hanipah said the unity government state candidates had committed themselves to driving 10 programmes designed to boost the economic viability and agricultural strengths of locals.
“We will foster 1,000 young agropreneurs who will bring the agricultural sector to a lucrative and rewarding level.
“We must set up an E-Desa marketing platform to bring cottage industry products into the mainstream retail sector.
“We need a disaster aid fund to help shield fishermen, crop and livestock farmers against losses brought about by natural disasters,” said Ahmad Bashah.
He added that as the country’s largest rice-producing area, GASA needed to become the national rice bank of the country to guarantee the nation’s food security.
Besides rice, the state’s fishermen need technical and vocational education and training to increase their efficiency and entrepreneurial aptitudes, with the aid of the Malaysia Industrial Development Authority and the Northern Corridor Implementation Authority.
He said the manifesto includes a commitment by the Pakatan-Barisan union to ensure affordable rental rates for local entrepreneurs to participate in the retail sector.
Five extra programmes were outlined to boost urban life in Alor Setar, including transit homes for youths who move into the city from rural areas.
These homes will provide affordable rentals for such youths to stay in until they find their footing.
The manifesto will re-introduce a previous programme dubbed Kasih Ibu Darul Aman to shelter the poor against the rising cost of living, ensure public healthcare, and provide skills enhancements for them.
There are also plans to provide free WiFi and 5G connectivity, plus efforts to boost the water supply grid with the replacement of ageing pipes.
At the press conference, Kedah DAP chairman Tan Kok Yew said the recent RM34mil worth of public projects in Kedah announced by the Local Government Development Ministry marked the starting point of efforts to kickstart GASA, which has received the commitment of all candidates from the unity pact.
“Alor Setar is the state capital, and we have to make the city a place of interest and the centre of good governance as it will determine sustainable development,” he said, adding that this could only be done if Kedah’s new government is aligned with the current Federal Government.
“It is important that all voters in the nine seats around Alor Setar vote for Pakatan and Barisan candidates and subsequently contribute to the formation of a new state government after the state election,” he said.
Also present at the event were Pakatan candidates Datuk Zamri Yusuf (Suka Menanti), Teh Swee Leong (Kota Darul Aman), and Barisan candidate for Bukit Lada, Datuk Said Ali Syed Rastan.
