SHAH ALAM, Jan 15 — As the Indian community celebrates Ponggal or the Harvest Festival today, Dato' Seri Amirudin Shari expresses hope that everyone in Selangor would benefit from the various state government programmes.
The Selangor Menteri Besar said the state government has been prioritising the Indian community's welfare, citing the Graduate Realising Opportunities Way Forward (GROW) as an example.
"The state administration has allocated RM1 million through the GROW programme to nurture entrepreneurs within the community and to make sure that people from the lower-income bracket would not be sidelined," he said his Ponggal message today.
Amirudin also pointed out that the Selangor government acknowledges the continuous contribution from the Indian community in the state.
"Their contribution is evident and the state government recognises their efforts by granting allowances for the Indian community leaders, as announced in Selangor Budget 2020," he said.
Amirudin hoped this year's Ponggal festival would pave the way for the Selangor people to make a new start and to be more prosperous and successful.
"I would like to take this opportunity to wish Happy Ponggal Festival or ‘Ponggal Vaalthukal’, to all Indians in the country," he said.
Pongal is a four-day harvest festival which falls on the first day of the month of ‘Thai’ in the Tamil calendar and is celebrated as a thanksgiving ceremony for the year’s harvest.
