LETTER | Local candidate can address local issues

LETTER | I am writing in response to the letter by TK Chua titled, ”What is Gerak Independent up to?“ that was published in Malaysiakini on Feb 18.

My name is Ravee Suntheralingam from Wangsa Maju, Kuala Lumpur. I have lived around this area for the past 32 years.

I have a family home and property in Wangsa Maju, and as such, I am a credible witness to the socio-economic and structural changes that have occurred within Wangsa Maju over the past three decades.

I am intimate with the issues within Wangsa Maju’s diverse demographics and deeply connected to the sentiments within this constituency simply because I am personally and directly affected by what happens in Wangsa Maju.

My entire lifestyle is centered on Wangsa Maju. This is where I ‘melepak’, do my groceries, have my meals, engage in social intervention activities, and meet my family and friends.

Issues such as declining economic conditions, increasing urban poverty, as well as escalating crime, affect me, my family, and friends as well. These are the issues people seek me out to find solutions to.

I was in a political party before and put two Wangsa Maju MPs into Parliament.

I had to weed out 5,000 phantom voters in the run-up to GE14, lodge police reports, train the election observation team, and initiate a judicial review to ensure the will of the people of Wangsa Maju was not thwarted.

I can also tell you how political parties actually work. Political parties work through a sickening pursuit of power aided by the recruitment of new members into the party in a popularity contest for party positions.

Once in power, their personal stands on local and national issues are rarely ever expressed. Instead, photo opportunities around potholes and blocked drains become their priority. Social media posts then feed the hype.

Not a political party

Chua must know that Wangsa Maju’s infrastructure issues are a direct result of gross inefficiency and negligence within the so-called local government.

Chua has stated that if Gerak Independent is unhappy then it should contest in Pekan, Pagoh, Bera, Bagan Datuk, or Marang.

Does this suggestion mean that he feels Gerak Independent is a political party? Where would he have gotten this idea from?

Please take the trouble to read up about Gerak Independent. We are Independent candidates. Not a political party.

To continue, is it also then Chua’s suggestion that I now abandon my people at Wangsa Maju and parachute myself to Pekan, Pagoh, Bera, Bagan Datuk, or Marang and pretend to have answers to their issues?

I believe his expectations must come from the fact that “parachute candidates” from political parties tend to do just that. We are not a political party. We are Gerak Independent candidates.

So, my question to Chua about priority is this instead. Is your priority the pursuit of political power, or is it about the best interests of the people of Wangsa Maju?

I hope Chua will make the effort to become aware of the bitterness and disappointment the people of Wangsa Maju had to endure when its first Keadilan MP defected in 2010.

The subsequent MP had to repeatedly promise, ‘Janji Tak Lompat’ during the two years leading up to GE13. I know, because I was there.

Would Chua be surprised if I told him that what Wangsa Maju wants is a local representative who identifies with the issues of the people of Wangsa Maju, and who is prepared to stick his neck out to represent their interests, instead of pretending that all is well and good?

What Wangsa Maju does not need is a disconnected MP who prefers to offer lofty rhetoric than actually address issues in a capable and right-minded manner.

Please come to Wangsa Maju to find out what I mean and hear the murmurings on the ground. Come take a walk with me, Chua. I’ll be happy to walk you through our issues.

#MajuWangsaMajuKu

RAVEE SUNTHERALINGAM is political reform group Gerak Independent’s candidate for Wangsa Maju.

The views expressed here are those of the author/contributor and do not necessarily represent the views of Malaysiakini.