JOHOR BARU – Experience in helping the community and planning to address the people’s problems are among issues utilised in the campaigns of two candidates contesting the Skudai seat in the Johor polls, in an effort to sway voters in their favour.
These candidates also expressed readiness to bring their respective agendas; the Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate from Bersatu, Khoo Kong Ek, has drawn up a 10-year plan to develop the area if given a mandate again.
Khoo, who was the Skudai assemblyman from 1999 to 2004, said the establishment of the Special Flood Management Committee to address the issue of flash floods experienced by residents in several places for a long time, and creating a conducive business environment to help revive the people’s economy, are among the focuses in his planning.
“I took a long time to study and scrutinise the planning for this constituency, thus making Skudai viable.
“I will focus on efforts to revive Skudai’s economy, which was affected by various issues including flash floods, apart from increasing the people’s income if given the mandate to administer this state constituency again,” he said when met recently.
In the 10th general election, Khoo represented Gerakan and won Skudai on a Barisan Nasional (BN) ticket. He decided to quit the party in 2020, and joined Bersatu early last year.
The Johor Bersatu affiliate wing information bureau chief also said that the plan would focus on making Skudai a smart city, helping create employment opportunities for young people, and setting up funds to help the needy, especially those without medical coverage.
Meanwhile, BN candidate Lim Soon Hai said that as a native of Skudai who also has experience as a local authority councillor for seven years, he has a better understanding of the demands and aspirations of the local community.
“For me, every candidate has an advantage, but as a native of Skudai, I know the demands and wishes of the people here. I also work here and serve the community. In terms of my record when I was a council member, I feel more confident,” he said.
Lim, who is also the Iskandar Puteri MCA division deputy chairman, will be focusing on addressing the issue of flash floods in Skudai, and wants to revive the economic sector in the area.
“Among my focuses are the issue of floods, the improvement of the traffic system and infrastructure, including dilapidated infrastructure, and most importantly the economy. Therefore, I hope the country’s borders will also be reopened as soon as possible to ensure that businesses that have been affected since the Covid-19 pandemic can recover, attract investors, and young people can get jobs,” he said.
He admitted that the task of developing the constituency, with an estimated population density of 150,000, will not be easy, but said he will not give up and pledged to do his job well if elected as the people’s representative.
Skudai will see a three-cornered fight between DAP candidate Marina Ibrahim, Lim, and Khoo.
In GE14, the seat was won by Tan Hong Pin (PH-DAP), defeating S. Kanan (BN) with a 35,126-vote majority. – Bernama, March 8, 2022
