JOHOR BARU – Johor MIC chairman R. Vidyananthan says that the Barisan Nasional (BN) coalition has been listening and responding to the needs of the state’s youth.
Noting that voter expectations have changed, Vidyananthan says political leaders must evolve with the times.
Although new parties such as Muda will be making their political debut in the upcoming Johor polls, Vidyananthan says that BN has not neglected the needs of the youth.
“BN is focused on all layers of society, including the youth.
“Within the party components, there are the Youth and Wanita wings, for example, and they focus on work for that particular segment of society.
“People are saying Muda is coming in to do changes, but the fight for the youth has been going on for years in the BN coalition,” Vidyananthan said during an interview with The Vibes.
He said that the ruling coalition has been active in ensuring that young leaders are able to climb the political ladder, particularly by giving youths opportunities to become representatives.
Passing of Undi18 not solely from youth’s efforts
Vidyananthan refuted allegations that BN has ignored youth voices, pointing out that Undi18 was only passed at the federal and state levels with the cooperation of the coalition.
“We realised this is a necessary massive democratisation process.
“The fight was not by the youth alone. In BN, the young and old supported Undi18,” he added.
For the upcoming polls, which would see those between 18 and 21 years of age taking to the ballot box for the first time, Vidyananthan asserts BN is aware of their needs and is ready to provide.
“What the youth want are vocal leaders who will fight for them, do the right things and provide good governance. We have been through the process of being young, and we know what is expected of us.
Leaders have to change with the times to woo young voters who want a clean and effective government. We must be more innovative, think out of the box, and utilise the power of social media,” he said.
BN vocal about Singapore border closure impact, fought for reopening
With 350,000 Malaysians travelling back and forth between Johor and Singapore before the pandemic, the closure of the border has had a significant impact on the state’s economy and society.
Vidyananthan, who is state health and environment committee chairman and former Kahang assemblyman, said that it was indeed a trying time for Johoreans, seeing how the closure had affected jobs, investments, and commerce.
Under the leadership of Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Hasni Mohammad, he said that the state government made sure Putrajaya was aware of the situation in Johor.
“Johor was very much affected by the closure, and the state government was vocal throughout.
“In fact, when cases had reduced after the first lockdown, we fought to change things here, or at least get the border opened.
This is why you see things such as the Vaccinated Travel Lane being done,” Vidyananthan said.
MIC still relevant to Johor’s Indian community
Although there may be positive sentiments towards having multiracial parties, MIC still bears relevance as an Indian-based party, according to Vidyananthan, who also hopes to retain his Kahang seat.
Operating as an Indian-based party, Vidyananthan says MIC is able to pursue matters relating to the community without clashing with coalition members.
During the pandemic, Vidyananthan points out that the MIC state machinery has been active in providing welfare for the Johor Indian community, particularly with food baskets, job matching, and vaccination drives.
“Given how some families had suffered from losing their income, MIC’s main agenda was to ensure the community had food.
At the same time, we approached Indian companies so that the community can get jobs.
“It may not have been big jobs, but at least they can get some income. In fact, we also worked with Perkeso to ensure we can carry out job matching for those looking for employment,” he explained.
Furthermore, Vidyananthan pointed out that the party had formed the Malaysian Bureau of Indian Workers in Singapore.
He said that the bureau was tasked with assisting Malaysian Indian workers to get through the necessary processes to cross the border during emergencies.
“There were many cases where people had to cross the border for emergencies, or they could not fund their quarantine period. We had a toll-free number and assigned people to assist these workers.
“Some had funerals to go to, and we ensured they could reach in time,” Vidyananthan said. – The Vibes, February 13, 2022
