JOHOR MB GOES TO THE GROUND TO MEET VILLAGERS WHO VOICED OUT THEIR PROBLEMS

By HAMDAN RAJA ABDULLAH
metrose@thestar.com.my

TANGKAK: Scores of villagers in the Serom constituency were happy when they were invited for breakfast with their Mentri Besar at a food stall in Rawang town near here.

The villagers from Tanjung Gading, Parit Bunga, Sungai Senduk, Pantai Layang and around Kampuing Rawang, joined Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman for the breakfast at Warung Fendi.

He was accompanied by Ledang MP Hamim Samuri, District Officer Han Ramin and the Johor MCA Youth chief Haw Chin Teck.

The Mentri Besar and his delegates spent more than one hour talking with the villagers.

Meet the people session: Abdul Ghani (seated, centre) listening to the villagers after breakfast at the Rawang town near Tangkak recently. With him is Ledang district officer Han Ramin (right).

‘Breakfast with the people’ was Abdul Ghani’s first itinerary in his one-day visit to meet Barisan Nasional leaders in the constituency.

After breakfast, some villagers approached Abdul Ghani and voiced out their problems, including matters related with the Bantuan Rakyat 1Malaysia (BR1M) scheme.

Some told their Mentri Besar that they did not receive the aid while some, including 84-year-old Robiah Abdul Hamid, who received the aid, was told to go to Tangkak to collect the cash.

Abdul Ghani said those who are eligible but did not receive the aid could appeal and urged them to see the relevant authorities or their village heads.

He said there were also those who did not apply as they did not how to apply and he urged the relevant authorities to look into the matter.

Besides BR1M issues, some villagers had also requested Abdul Ghani to look into damaged roads and drains in their villages and wanted them to be upgraded.

He said such meeting had enabled him to deal with the villager’s problems and listen to their needs as they meet him in person.

In relation to the working visit, MCA’s Haw said the Chinese community in Rawang was happy that they managed to inform Abdul Ghani about the damaged roads and drains at their village.

The damaged roads, he said, are Jalan Merbau Berdarah and Jalan Parit Pelampung, while the drains are along Jalan Nain Haji Salam and from the Rawang town to Parit Gantung.

Haw added that the community also wanted their Mentri Besar to build a new school building at SRJK Chung Hwa in Sungai Senduk as the present school had limited classrooms.

Besides extra classrooms, the school also needed new fences and estimated the total cost for the school projects at about RM1mil.

“The Mentri Besar agreed to look into the problems we raised, including about a new school building and the fences,” he added.

Abdul Ghani later visited Barisan’s election operation centre in Taman Muhibah near Sungai Mati before joining fellow Muslims in Tanjung Gading Laut for Friday prayers.

SOURCE: THE STAR, FEBRUARY 24, 2012