KUALA LUMPUR: Thousands of visitors thronged the inaugural 100-Day Aspirasi Keluarga Malaysia event at the Kuala Lumpur Convention Centre, where the government's 31 ministries exhibited their services and presented their achievements under Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob.
People arrived as early as 8am before the doors opened an hour later.
They made a beeline for booths set up by ministries and entrepreneurs, and took part in activities, such as the Keluarga Malaysia Job Fair Carnival.
The police booth, which offered discounts of up to 80 per cent on compounds, saw a snaking queue.
Neighbours Shaik Mohd Hassan Shaik Asaradin, 67, and Noor Azman Md Noor,50, travelled from Putra Heights in Subang Jaya, Selangor, to pay off their compounds worth hundreds of ringgit after the reduction.
Shaik Hassan said they would have had to fork out thousands of ringgit without the discount.
"It took us two hours to check on the compounds and make the payments, but it was worth our time and the process was quick.
"I paid RM200 for eight compounds, which would otherwise have cost me about RM1,300.
"Paying it off has lifted a burden off me and saved me hundreds of ringgit, which I can use for household expenses and basic necessities," he told the New Straits Times.
Noor Azman said he was thankful to the government for offering the discounts, which would ease the burden faced by the people during the Covid-19 pandemic.
"It is a mission accomplished for me. I am sure many people want to settle their compounds and I hope the four-day time period will be extended."
Sisters Nurul Farehah Gamal Abdul Nasser, 28, and Nurul Faizura, 27, from Sepang, Selangor, had set out to look for jobs at the job fair.
The housewives said they were ready to start working as the pandemic situation had improved and the economic sectors had reopened.
Nurul Farehah said: "We hope to find jobs in the retail industry. It is good that everything is under one roof."
She said she had gained insights from the Women, Family and Community Development Ministry booth on issues related to the disabled and the Welfare Department.
The secretariat for the Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Ministry booth, Mohd Zaid Idris, said it encouraged people to download the price catcher app, where consumers can compare prices of goods at wet markets, supermarkets and grocery shops.
"The ministry's price monitoring team surveys prices at these places daily and the information is posted on the app.
"This allows buyers to compare prices and save money."
Mohd Ikhmal Abu Bakar, booth chairman for the Prime Minister's Department (special functions), said visitors could learn about agencies under its purview, such as the Civil Defence Force, National Disaster Management Agency, Yayasan Peneraju Pendidikan Bumiputera
and the Bumiputera Agenda Steering Unit (Teraju).
"As the Public Service Department (PSD) is also under us, pensioners can renew their pension card here and they can receive it within five minutes.
"This saves them the hassle of going to the PSD."
The event, which ends on Dec 12, is from 9am to 10pm.
Other activities are Jom Masuk IPT Keluarga Malaysia, e-sports competition, Quran Hour Live, acoustic busking, batik colouring and business matching.
Up to 70 employers and more than 10,000 jobs are available at the job fair, while there are 98 entrepreneurial stalls.