JOHOR BARU: "It's an uphill battle for Barisan Nasional (BN) but we will not relent. We will strive to do our best," said BN's Datuk Jason Teoh Sew Hock.
He said he would give the opposition a tough fight in the 15th General Election (GE15).
He said the voters here wanted a change in the parliamentary constituency and the Johor state election in March was the turning point.
Speaking to the New Straits Times at his operations room in Iskandar Puteri, he said Pakatan Harapan could not deliver its promises after winning the 2018 polls.
Teoh, 53, who is contesting the Iskandar Puteri parliamentary seat for the second time, said the people were dissatisfied and BN had to eventually take over.
In the 2018 general election, he went up against DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang and lost by 44,864 votes. In GE15, he will be challenging Jashen Tan Nam Cha of Perikatan Nasional and Liew Chin Tong (DAP)
There are 222,437 voters in the constituency. The majority of them are Chinese (47 per cent), followed by Malays (38 per cent), Indians (14 per cent) and other ethnicities (1.1 per cent).
Teoh said: "I feel the wind is strongly blowing towards BN and we stand a good chance this time."
On his manifesto, on the local front, he said he planned to restore and upgrade the low and medium cost flats for better prosperity.
He also planned to improve infrastructure, as well as address issues concerning congestion and safety in the constituency.
He added that he wanted to ensure better facilities and jobs for the disabled.
Teoh said he would also look into upgrading facilities at government hospitals and clinics.
"This is to ensure the people's health is always prioritised," he said.
On the national front, he said, empowering the disabled and ensuring the Bottom 40 group was not left out would be his top agenda.
He said he would ensure jobs for youths, adding that he would also help strengthen the economy.
"Iskandar Puteri voters felt they were deceived, and that's why they turned to BN after making a comparison between BN and PH."
PH, he said, promised them the moon, like abolishing the toll and the National Higher Education Fund Corporation debts, as well as reducing the price of fuel.
"We have observed at the PH rally that it only apologised for not being able to fulfil its promises."
He said a stable government was very crucial for the economy to recover and for that, the people needed BN.
He also assured that more national-type primary Tamil and Chinese schools would be built in his constituency if he won the seat.
"Issues concerning infrastructure in many SJK(T) in my area are being overlooked. I will try to see where I can help them."
He said if he was elected to represent Iskandar Puteri, he would be the voice of the people there.
"The people of Iskandar Puteri have been paying taxes every year, but the benefits have never returned to them because of the wrongly-picked member of parliament."
He said since Iskandar Puteri had been made a city in 2017, the population had grown steadily to 530,000 and there was a need for a public hospital.
"I am headed into an arduous battle, but I am confident that with my teamwork and preparation, I can deliver and win the seat for BN," he added.
