NEW GIRL ON THE BLOCK TO TAKE ON TERESA KOK IN SEPUTEH? MCA MAY FIELD EX-DPP CHAN QUIN ER – REPORT

MCA’s Chan Quin Er is speculated to be Barisan Nasional’s candidate to contest the Seputeh parliamentary seat in Kuala Lumpur in the next elections.

The 31-year-old former deputy public prosecutor, is the Seputeh MCA division assistant secretary and has been an MCA member since she was 20.

A long-time resident of Taman OUG and later Happy Garden in Kuala Lumpur, Chan also has early experience dabbling in numerous charitable initiatives.

“I have been active since I was 18 actually, and have been involved in charitable projects under the Sunlight Education Fund which aids 27 Chinese schools in Kuala Lumpur including four in Seputeh,” she said.

If appointed as a candidate for the Seputeh seat, Chan said her campaign manifesto would include calling for legislation criminalising the abandonment of elderly folk.

“Malaysia has no law against abandoning or neglecting the elderly. Such cases are increasing and this is disturbing to me, and is an issue that I care a lot about,” she said.

Chan also wants to push for legislation calling for the mandatory caning of snatch thieves.

On a local level, she wants to make Seputeh a disabled-friendly zone and lobby for a UTC (Urban Transformation Centre) there.

“Seputeh is developing fast with lots of projects in the pipeline; so I believe having a UTC here will benefit the community tremendously,” she said, adding that the nearest UTC for the constituents was in Pudu Sentral.

On the issue of overdevelopment in Seputeh, a topic that has become a bone of contention in the community, Chan said she was not anti-development but appreciated the concerns of the residents.

“In any project, we should be able to reach a middle ground, especially when negotiating for better infrastructure.

“There must be better coordination between the local authorities and the local community,” she said.

“I know what it feels to be displaced having lived at the 4th Mile Jalan Kelang Lama when I was young. My home was acquired by the Government to widen the road 20 years ago,” she said.

Chan, who is executive secretary of the Sunlight Education Fund, is seen here with SJK(C) Salak South students after presenting a cheque to the school during a Chinese New Year event in 2014.

Chan graduated with a law degree from University of London in 2009. She also has a degree in international political economy from Peking University.

She held the position of deputy public prosecutor in the Attorney-General’s Chambers from March 2014 to March this year.

She also holds directorial positions in several non-governmental organisations.

Seputeh has been an Opposition stronghold for decades with MP Teresa Kok from DAP winning the seat in the last elections with the largest majority of 51,552 votes against Barisan’s Nicole Wong.

In 2008, Kok won the seat by a 36,492-vote majority.

The Opposition stronghold has been a DAP seat and has seen straight fights between MCA and DAP since 2004.

Kok, 54, will most likely defend her seat this time.

ANN