MAHKOTA INDIAN COMMUNITY HOPES FOR EMPOWERMENT IN ECONOMY, EDUCATION

KLUANG, Sept 18 (Bernama) -- Indian voters in the Mahkota state constituency hope that the new representative elected in the by-election will continue to ensure that their welfare is protected.

Those interviewed by Bernama said that one of the priorities is to expand educational opportunities for Indian students and youth, besides empowering the local economic sector for the community.

Private sector employee Alloycius Leroy, 29, said better education opportunities would undoubtedly open up job opportunities and help them acquire a better life for their families in the future.

"Opportunities and other assistance to the Indian community should also be given attention, such as assistance and guidance in the field of business especially to young people to encourage them to venture into the field which would in turn help other families here.

"Most importantly, we want the elected representative to listen to our grouses and is committed in discharging his responsibilities and is not just fishing for votes and disappearing after the election. He must always be ready to solve the issues facing the Indian community," he told Bernama here today. 

Indian voters in Mahkota constituency located in Kluang district made up eight per cent of the 66,318 registered voters.

Similarly Shanta Sabrimuthu, 61,  also hopes that the focus will be given to efforts to further increase educational opportunities for the young Indian community there.

"I hope that the new assemblyman can provide more opportunities to further the studies and improve  educational assistance for Indian children, especially for the underprivileged," she said.

A resident of Taman Makmur Rajan Naidu, 50, hopes that the new representative would have the people’s interests at heart and is approachable like the previous representative.

Taking the example of the earlier representative, Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain and Datuk Md Jais Sardy, Rajan said they took care of the welfare of various local population, so that they are willing to listen to our problems'.

"If there is any untoward incident, we want the representative help us identify the problem and then find a solution," he said.

Rajan also said that there are not many major problems in the Mahkota state constituency and this area is also developing.

The Mahkota state by-election on Sept 28 is seeing a straight fight between Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah and Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Mohamad Haizan Jaafar.

The by-election was held following the death of incumbent Sharifah Azizah, 63, while receiving treatment at Enche' Besar Hajjah Khalsom Hospital here on August 2.

-- BERNAMA