PASIR GUDANG: Friends for more than 10 years, three out of the four candidates vying for the Pasir Gudang parliamentary seat do not see it as an obstable to campaign in a democratic, matured and healthy way.
The three friends, 37 year-old Noor Azleen Ambros of Barisan Nasional, 39 year-old Mohamad Farid Abdul Razak of Perikatan Nasional and 49 year-old Mohammad Raffi Beran of Pejuang, will be up against incumbent Hassan Abdul Karim of Pakatan Harapan.
In the 14th General Election, Hassan won with a majority of 24,726 votes in Pasir Gudang Parliament defeating BN's Mohamed Khaled Nordin, who was then Johor's Menteri Besar. Khaled is contesting the Kota Tinggi parliamentary seat this election.
Noor Azleen, who is using "Pasir Gudang KITA PUNYA" slogan for his campaign, said the era of hate politics and personal attacks during the campaign period has passed.
"I did not expect to be given the opportunity to replace Khaled. It will be a great challenge for me. I am committed to give my best including approaching the youth by using the appropriate approach to ensure that the parliament returns to BN.
"It is not an easy mission because in this GE, BN is not defending Pasir Gudang. Instead, we want to make up for the defeat in GE14. I am optimistic we can capture the Pasir Gudang parliamentary seat in GE-15," he said.
Noor Azleen said he will engage voters through social media, as it is impossible for the party's information machinery of 300 officers to reach as many as 200,000 voters during the campaign period.
"I want to ensure prosperity of the local residents in Pasir Gudang, recognising that it is now a city council, that that more job opportunities can be created," he added.
Meanwhile, Mohamad Farid will hold several walkabout sessions in addition to engaging the voters through social media like Noor Azleen.
He exudes confidence of getting support from voters who know him when he served as the Rinting zone councillor for over a year, in addition to his active participation in the community through several youth associations for almost 20 years.
He said he had solved the people's complaints especially related to hawker licences, on parking facilities at mosques, flood problems and for the construction of a futsal court.
Mohamad Farid said he also kept his promise to his parents to help all walks of life regardless of their background.
"My father often told me to take the good and discard the bad in politics. If I win, I want to focus on efforts to improve the local economy, overcome the food crisis, solve environmental and infrastructure issues," he said.
Mohammad Raffi said although he is up against his friends, the election is a process of democracy. "As a new candidate, I'm definitely nervous but I don't think there will be any problems in the future. All the candidates are my friends.
"We compete to form a good and perfect democratic country,' he said.
