BEYOND formulating and debating laws, several lawmakers cite the issues faced and solved in their debut term and hope to contest their seats again to fulfil their promises. 

These first-time MPs told The Malaysian Insight they remained committed to complete the tasks and projects they have undertaken in their constituencies.

These MPs highlighted the many challenges and obstacles they faced as newbies, such as dealing with local councils and their voters, as well as in addressing issues such as housing, poverty, youth employment and overdevelopment.

In 2018, history was made in the Dewan Rakyat, with 90 new MPs sworn in when Pakatan Harapan came into power by defeating Barisan Nasional.

The Malaysian Insight interviewed several first-term MPs to get their take on what challenges they had faced during their term.

Batu MP P. Prabakaran

At the age of 22, P. Prabakaran became the youngest MP after winning the Batu seat as an Independent. He then joined PKR in 2018.

Prabakaran said the most valuable experience he got as an MP was getting to know the community, and doing a job that comes with a lot of hard work.

“The most important thing is identifying the issues and finding solutions to people’s problems. It doesn’t matter if it’s their welfare, medical issues, youth wellbeing and others.

“Being an MP is not all about being a lawmaker in parliament, but also taking care of our constituents.”

He said when he first took on the role as a young MP, there was a lot of excitement but also a lot of hard work in meeting various civil society groups, youth and the community to address their issues.

“The major challenge I faced was from voters who have put their trust in me. In the early days I went to places of worship, businesses and residents associations to introduce myself.

“This was to build bridges with the community. I have met a majority of them and the people can see the changes now in Batu.”

As for his constituency, he said he wants to preserve more green-lung areas.

“We found that some green spaces were sold to developers, so we are working to solve this problem. There is overdevelopment here, so we will be protesting the issue.”

On national issues, he said he wants to continue to champion the rights of youth and address issues they face.

“Youth are important in nation building. We have to address issues such as unemployment, housing, high cost of living and others that need to be highlighted to the government.

“If I’m given the opportunity to contest again in Batu, I will continue to empower the people, address their issue and ensure this seat remains in PKR. But, this is for the party leadership to decide.”

Petaling Jaya MP Maria Chin Abdullah

Maria Chin Abdullah hopes to continue serving her constituents if she is given the opportunity to contest again.

As a first-time MP, she said that many urban poor live in Petaling Jaya, despite its status as a city.

She said that her main concern was to get the state government to address social issues in urban areas, which is a struggle.

“Five years is not enough. There are still a lot of things to do in Petaling Jaya. I would definitely like to continue the work here.”

She said one of the main challenges she faced was ensuring the wellbeing of the people in low-cost flats.

“Healthcare, poverty and transport issues for the elderly need to be addressed.

“When Covid-19 started it just aggravated all these issues. I’m concerned about these issues, especially the children who are not getting enough nutrients. These are some of the challenges I’m facing.”

She said to address health-related issues, she organised healthcare programmes each month at the flats.

Maria hopes that the federal and state governments would also look into the infrastructure and maintenance of the low cost flats, as some are in dilapidated conditions.

As a lawmaker, Maria said that poverty has become a national concern.

“There is the high cost of living. The economy needs time to recover and there is a lack of jobs. These are things the people are most concerned about.

Setiawangsa MP Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad

First-time lawmaker Nik Nazmi Nik Ahmad, also from PKR, said that he would prefer to stay and contest in his constituency.

“I have publicly stated that I prefer to contest here, but the final decision lies with the party leadership.

“One of the big factors to remain here is to continue the work that’s being done (for the people).”

He said that he has been serving the area since 2015, when he was with the Selangor government.

“I have invested a lot of time and effort and I believe the residents know me and what I’m doing.

“There is still a lot of unfinished business there. I do hope to be able to defend Setiawangsa.”

He said that one of the main challenges he faced as an MP was during the pandemic in addressing the people’s issues.

“I have been given a chance by the people in the last election, so I have work cut out for me.

“It is to also convince them to stick with me in the next election.”

Nik Nazmi said that one of the issues he is currently handling is the MRT3 project, which will cut through one of the residential areas.

“The MRT project will obliterate the area. This is of concern. I have openly spoken about the project as a whole. But, the human impact of the project is very real.

“Another issue is at the low-cost flats, where poverty and child nourishment was real before Covid-19 and it’s worse now. So, a lot of effort is needed there.”

As a lawmaker, Nik Nazmi said his main focus is on education, especially with the urban poor.

Bentong MP Wong Tack

For Bentong MP Wong Tack, one term as a lawmaker is definitely not enough to fulfil what needs to be done in his hometown in Pahang.

“We need to address housing issues, public amenities, land developments and other issues.

“Since I came in, there are still no banks here, a petrol station was just set up and there was no automated teller machine until recently.

“Our commitment is very simple: it is to reach out to the poor and elderly to assist them.”

The DAP lawmaker said that part of his funding was also used to assist schools that are dilapidated and homes that need repairs.

Wong also chided the state government over the poor road conditions in the area, more so as they are located only an hour from Klang Valley.

As a first-term MP, he said some of the challenges he faced was getting resources and dealing with the state government and local authority.

“When we were in the federal government for 22 months, we couldn’t get much cooperation from the then opposition state (Pahang).

“Even during the recent floods we were not allowed to sit in their meetings. So, we don’t know what’s going on.”

He said that Bentong has a lot of potential and his main aim is to turn the area into an ecotourism hub.

“I will work with local civil society groups to maintain our rivers, waterfalls and forests.”

As for national issues, Wong said it is crucial that the government look into global warming and climate change for the future.

“People of this generation are going to face challenges ahead. The government and all those involved need to address this issue.

“We don’t want a repeat of what happened in Baling, Kedah to happen here. I will continue to raise issues on the environment in parliament,” he said referring to floods in Baling last week.

On going to another seat, Wong said that he would rather stay in Bentong as he has yet to finish the work he started.

However, he said that any decision was the prerogative of his party.

Kangar MP Noor Amin Ahmad

Kangar lawmaker Noor Amin Ahmad said it has been a learning curve for him in the face of the Covid-19 pandemic and political uncertainty since the Sheraton Move.

He said at the same time his job also demanded him to be flexible and proactive in taking care of his constituents. 

“I learned many things, especially the dexterity of understanding the parliamentary process, while helping out the people. 

“I had to prioritise the needs of the people as well as manage all the political issues.”

Noor Amin said there were many improvements he wanted to tackle in his constituency. 

“I want to include more elements of technology in the state management. In addition, there are various issues that need to be addressed.”

Noor Amin said that his priority in the Dewan Rakyat was to raise issues on education, rural welfare and strengthening family institutions.

He said that as an MP he was concerned about the constitution because reform measures must be taken to enable the country to move forward. – July 22, 2022.