JOHOR POLLS | As campaigning for the 16th Johor state election enters its second week today, five Pakatan Harapan candidates in the greater Johor Bahru area have zeroed in on local issues in their constituencies.
At a press conference today, the candidates - Lee Wern Ying (Johor Jaya), Alan Tee (Perling), Andrew Chen (Stulang), Kartiyaini Jeyapalan (Skudai), Nor Zulaila Abdul Ghani (Tiram) - each highlighted a problem which they promised to address if elected in the July 11 polls.
“We have childcare, senior care, cross-border issues, and flood mitigation solutions.
“All these are issues that would be our prime concern. We will continue to raise these issues in the Johor state assembly,” said Chen, Harapan’s sole incumbent in the line-up who is defending Stulang in a four-cornered contest against BN, Bersama, and an independent.
Their press conference today follows Prime Minister and Harapan chairperson Anwar Ibrahim’s two-day campaign blitz across the state, with speeches and promises that fuelled debate on national issues and federal contributions to Johor.
Yesterday, Muda’s candidate for Puteri Wangsa, Rashifa Aljunied, claimed that Harapan’s Johor election manifesto launched last Friday did not mention measures to address flooding, climate change, and environmental protection.
Keeping an eye on development
Elaborating on his promise for Perling, Tee pledged closer oversight of development and drainage maintenance in Johor Bahru, arguing that recurring floods in the Greater Johor Bahru area are not entirely unavoidable.
While acknowledging that climate change may have contributed to more frequent flooding, Tee said poor planning and maintenance also played a role.
“Floods have become more frequent year after year in the Greater Johor Bahru area. We cannot deny that climate change and global warming may be factors, but at the same time, we also cannot deny that many of these problems are preventable,” he said.
Citing the serious floods that struck Perling in March last year, Tee said more than 1,000 families were affected in an incident he believed could have been avoided.
“If we are given the mandate, we will monitor developers in Johor Bahru to determine whether development has become excessive, particularly in Perling and Iskandar Puteri.
“The flooding happened simply because the drains were clogged. So the question is whether the contractors were carrying out their maintenance work according to schedule,” he said.
Improving public transport
For Johor Jaya, Lee said Harapan aimed to improve bus services by increasing service frequency, providing clearer route information and ensuring punctuality to make public transport more reliable.
She said the coalition would also seek to improve connectivity between buses, rail services, and private vehicles.
“Pedestrian facilities also need to be improved through the construction of safer walkways and additional pedestrian crossings to encourage greater use of public transport,” she said.
In Skudai, Kartiyaini said greater attention must be given to the welfare of senior citizens as Malaysia becomes an ageing society.
Among the proposals put forward are expanding community centres and social activities, improving elderly-friendly public facilities, strengthening collaboration with medical institutions and welfare agencies, and providing greater support for families caring for elderly parents.
On cross-border congestion, Chen said Harapan would continue monitoring efforts to improve traffic flow at the Johor Causeway and the Malaysia-Singapore Second Link through the use of technology and other appropriate solutions.
He also proposed establishing a Johor-Singapore Cross-Border Select Committee in the Johor legislative assembly to facilitate more comprehensive discussions on congestion, the cross-border economy and bilateral Johor-Singapore issues.
Tee further said all of the issues raised would be pursued collectively by Harapan candidates contesting seats in the Greater Johor Bahru area if they are given the mandate in the state election.
“No single candidate will focus on just one issue.
“We will work as one team to monitor the situation, put forward proposals and implement improvements to address all of these issues for the benefit of the people,” he said. - Mkini
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