JITRA, March 2 ― A nine-month period is too short for the people to judge the performance of the new government under Pakatan Harapan (PH) as it is a phase for the party to conduct housekeeping on what was left by the previous government.

Deputy Finance Minister Datuk Amiruddin Hamzah said that, although the period was brief, the government had taken numerous initiatives to ensure the needs and interests of the people were looked after including taking over concessions and doing away with tolls in stages.

"The nine-month period is like a pregnancy which is about due. We started with a piece of white paper or white cloth but entered a topsy turvy scenario so we have to conduct housekeeping and this takes time.

"Nowe we have and are making changes. Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad too is very concerned about all the promises in the manifesto and a special committee to look at its implementation has also been set up,” he told reporters here today.

Earlier, he attended a Transformation and Charity Aid Tour Programme and Gotong Royong at Kampung Pantai Halban.

Meanwhile, asked to comment on a statement by independent research body Ilham Centre yesterday that Barisan National (BN) could defeat PH at the Semenyih state by-election, he hoped voters could make an accurate choice.

He hoped voters in Semenyih could evaluate and give the mandate to PH to continue heading the area as they stood to benefit since the ruling government was also PH.

The polling for the Semenyih state by-election, which started at 8 am today, saw a four-corner fight involving Muhammad Aiman Zainali from PH, Zakaria Hanafi (BN), Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul (The Socialist Party of Malaysia) and independent candidate, Kuan Chee Heng. ― Bernama