KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Harapan (PH) is committed to rejuvenate Tanjung Piai and other small towns in Johor, which were left behind in terms of development under the previous government.
Johor DAP chairman Liew Chin Tong said this effort needed to be seen through because of the way that the Barisan Nasional (BN) government had neglected places such as Tanjung Piai.
He pointed out that during his past stint as Tanjung Piai member of parliament, BN’s Datuk Seri Wee Jeck Seng failed to bring progress that could have retained the increasing number of locals who chose to move elsewhere to seek a better life.
“He has been there for more than 20 years, and yet more locals are leaving the constituency to seek a better life elsewhere. So, what went wrong?” he said in a statement today.
Wee lost the parliamentary seat to Pakatan Harapan’s Datuk Dr Md Farid Md Rafik during the 14th General Election (GE14) last year.
He was again chosen by BN when he was named as its candidate for the Tanjung Piai parliamentary by-election on Nov 16, which was called following Farid’s death on Sept 21.
Liew said Wee had presided over the decline of Pontian and Pekan Nanas.
“That’s why he lost GE14 to Pakatan Harapan. Even with his dismal record, he insists to make a comeback.
“Hence, as Johor DAP chairman, I am committed to assist our Pakatan Harapan candidate, Haji Karmaine Sardini, to retain Tanjung Piai for the sake of continuity.
“We need to rejuvenate the constituency as this beautiful place has been neglected by BN.
“My role is to ensure that when Haji Karmaine is elected, he will be assisted to drive effort towards reforms and progress in Tanjung Piai,” said Liew.
He said PH was working to rejuvenate small towns in Johor, and that is specifically wanted to bring a new lease of life to Pontian and Pekan Nanas
“I hope with Haji Karmaine, the Federal Government and the state government, we can bring a new lease of life to Pontian and Pekan Nanas,” he said.