KUALA LUMPUR: As part of Malaysia Prime Minister Najib Razak and his government's efforts to boost the ability of citizens to read and have access to cheaper goods, the country is pushing forward with its latest 1Malaysia projects, including low-cost bookstores and cheap fabric outlets. “We are planning to open the bookstores soon in Kuala Lumpur and I can assure you that the prices will be lower and affordable,” Razak said while announcing the project on Sunday. “As for the ladies, we are also planning to open a 1Malaysia fabric store. I am sure that you all will be excited as you will be able to purchase quality fabrics at cheap prices,” he added. For many in the country, dishing out RM15 for a book is too much. Rania Talim, a housewife and self-professed middle-class Malaysian, told Bikyamasr.com that she hopes the new initiatives will be put into action in the near future. “I would love to buy my children new books and be able to get the fabric to make things at home,” she began. “Right now it is too expensive. Even the street stalls in Chinatown and Little India are too much for us all the time so I am looking forward to continuing to make life easier for us in the middle.” The new announcement comes as the government's foodstuffs shops have been a raving success, delivering essential goods to the lower classes in the country at dramatically reduced prices. The shops currently offer necessities such as rice, eggs, milk, flour, chili sauce, frozen items, diapers and detergents at almost 60 percent below prices of other outlets selling similar necessities. For families like Talim's, it has been a success and she has praised the government for their initiatives. “We are a large family and really need this help because it means we are able to live just fine on these products because I can get enough each time out for all my children and my husband,” she said. In this year's budget, 1Malaysia book vouchers were allocated to students and undergraduates at RM100 and RM200 each. The government also continued to fulfil promises to the people by providing a RM500 monetary assistance under the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) scheme for households earning less than RM3,000.
