Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has promised to ease the woes of Malay traders renting shoplots at the PKNS Complex in Shah Alam, if the BN is voted in and takes over the state government in the upcoming polls.

“I listened to the traders till I felt their sadness, if I stayed longer tears may flow... to me the state government raising the rental by 100 percent is excessive, despite the rental here being lower than most other shopping complexes,” he told traders during his walkabout at the PKNS Complex today.

najib“On your proposal for the federal government to take over the complex (its problematic), we will have to talk to the state government and they will impose severe restrictions. So I think it is easier for us to take over the state government.

“I promise that when BN takes over the state (government), we will abolish the rental increase,” Najib (above) promised the cheering traders.

He told the traders that they will have to weather the “dark days” under the Pakatan state government, but promised to help them in the interim.

“Looking at the ubi kayu (tapioca), I feel that this is symbolic. This is what we ate during the Japanese occupation.

“Now you will have to eat ubi kayu, but later we will eat nasi minyak (Ghee rice),” he said, taking a dig at Pakatan, during the tea session with the traders when he was served with a tapioca dish.

At his next stop in his day-long walkabout - seemingly part of BN’s campaign to retake Pakatan-controlled Selangor - Najib made more promises to the residents of the Rimba Jaya Apartments.

He promised more money to build a surau and a Hindu temple at the former squatter settlement.

Najib also said that he will look into assisting those who still could not get loans to purchase the low-cost apartments which were built after the squatter settlement was demolished.

The walkabout campaign started in the morning after Najib held a meeting with officials of the state BN election machinery, which included some 800 polling and counting agents.