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JOHOR BAHRU - Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Larkin state seat Suhaizan Kaiat has dismissed concerns from some netizens over his decision to contest in the constituency despite already serving as the Member of Parliament for Pulai.
He said his experience as an MP would instead allow him to better serve the people of Larkin by raising their issues at both the state and federal levels.
"Why not? About 70 per cent of Larkin shares its boundaries with Pulai, so I am already familiar with the residents in both Pulai and Larkin. I consider many of the issues, the communities and even the demographic composition to be quite similar," he told Sinar Daily.
The former Johor Amanah chairman said his parliamentary role would enable him to provide additional assistance to Larkin residents.
"With my position in Parliament, I can help the people by bringing their issues to either the state level or the federal level. It is an opportunity for both sides if the people choose me because I already understand the situation on the ground better," he said.
Suhaizan added that his experience dealing with issues in Pulai would put him in a stronger position to address the needs and concerns of Larkin residents.
Touching on the key issues in the constituency, Suhaizan said infrastructure development, employment opportunities and land matters remained among the main concerns raised by residents.
"The issues that we are looking into and trying to solve are, of course, infrastructure and job opportunities. Most importantly, there are land issues because many people in Kampung Melayu Majidee want their land status to be converted from leasehold to freehold. That is one of the challenging issues that we are looking into," he said.
Larkin will witness a three-cornered fight in the 16th Johor state election, with Suhaizan taking on incumbent assemblyman and Johor Exco member Mohd Hairi Mad Shah of Barisan Nasional (BN), as well as Bersama candidate Norsinah Abu.
Suhaizan, 53, is no stranger to Johor politics. A former teacher and engineer, he served as the Speaker of the Johor State Legislative Assembly from 2018 to 2020 during the Pakatan Harapan administration.