PETALING JAYA — Perikatan Nasional’s Taman Medan candidate Dr Afif Bahardin is comfortable contesting in the area, even though he has moved constituencies from Penang to Selangor.
Speaking to reporters at the nomination centre at Dewan Sivik MBPJ, here today, he said the demographics are similar to Seberang Jaya, Penang where he was the state assemblyman for two terms from 2013 under PKR.
“The majority of Taman Medan residents are Malays who live in urban areas and they are a tight-knit community.
“So this is an advantage for me because the Dun that I represented for two terms before, Seberang Jaya, has almost the same demographics as Taman Medan,” he said.
Afif, who worked as a medical officer at the Seberang Jaya Hospital and Sungai Buloh Hospital, also said that one of the things that he wished to develop in Taman Medan is parks along the Klang River.
“I think Taman Medan should not be left behind by the current rapid development, especially for a city so close to Kuala Lumpur.
“Seeing that Klang River runs near the area as its boundary, based on my survey… Taman Medan poses a huge potential to create parks along the river.
“As such, I hope I could help develop Taman Medan to not just improve the image but also the quality of life of the residents,” he added.
Afif will face PKR’s Ahmad Akhir Pawan Chi in the two-cornered fight in Taman Medan, which was helmed by PKR’s Syamsul Firdaus Mohamed Supri during the 2018 state election.
He also contested in the 15th general election under the PN ticket for the Shah Alam constituency but lost to PH’s Azli Yusof with a majority of 18,095 votes.
— Scoop pic, July 29, 2023
Meanwhile, R. Rajiv of DAP, the incumbent candidate for Bukit Gasing, is determined to defend his seat.
Having served the area for two terms since the 2013 state election, Rajiv stressed that being an incumbent comes with both advantages and disadvantages.
“Don’t take (things) for granted, that’s my motto. I do feel confident with the support from the residents of Bukit Gasing but I will not take it lightly.
“I will continue to campaign, continue to communicate and meet with the residents and be open to any feedback, criticism, and advice from the community.
“I will also continue to be accessible to the people to hear and address their concerns, while not compromising myself by getting involved in corruption,” he said.
It is going to be a three-cornered fight between Rajiv, Muda’s T. Kalyana Rajasekaran, and Gerakan’s D. Nallan. — July 29, 2023