THERE are still many unresolved issues in Gadek which G. Saminathan wants to set right for the locals.

The incumbent state representative from DAP won this Malay-majority seat in the last general election, the first time Pakatan Harapan (PH) managed to wrestle the seat with about 12,600 voters from Barisan Nasional (BN).

Sixty per cent of the voters here are Malays, followed by Chinese (24%) and Indians (16%).

“The people in Gadek know me very well and also the things I have done for them,” 36-year-old told The Malaysian Insight.

‘“We want to focus on issues here and one of them is education. 

“This is because if the B40 group gets proper education, they will be able to get out (from the rut) and have a better life,” he said.

Saminathan’s start as an elected rep after the GE14 was rocked by his detention under the Security Offences Special Measures (Sosma) Act in October 29, 2019, over his alleged links to the Sri Lankan separatist movement Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

He was arrested and charged along with nine others, including another DAP state rep, putting the then PH federal and state government under immense pressure with continuous attacks from opposition parties Umno and PAS.

They were acquitted of all charges last year.

Saminathan refused to be drawn into talking about his detention under Sosma, or on how it would impact his chances in the state elections.

Instead, he said, he would rather concentrate on finding ways to solve the problems of the people in Gadek.

He said that he had been focusing on visiting schools in the state constituency to find out the problems faced there.

“The main issue was people weren’t able to pay school fees.

“I gave a budget of RM30,000 to the 11 schools in Gadek, which they used to pay school fees for those who could not afford it,” he said.

Saminathan also agreed with the need to have a strict standard operating procedure set for this election campaign, but hoped that contesting candidates are allowed to visit voters.

“This would help the voters know more about the candidate.

“But we also don’t want what happened in Sabah to happen here because that will only make the people here struggle. 

“I do not want to go to the point where people start raising white flags for food supply due to state election clusters,” said Saminathan who won the Gadek seat in GE14 with a majority of 307 votes in a three-cornered fight.

In the upcoming polls, Saminathan faces a six-cornered fight, with his closest challenge coming from P. Shanmugam (BN).

The other candidates for this seat are Mohd Amir Fitri Muharam (PN), Laila Norinda Maon (Putra) and independents Azafen Amin and Mohan Singh.

‘He said his biggest challenge was in facing the media coverage against his BN rival.

“The BN candidate will be able to use the government media agencies for his coverage but apart from that, I don’t see any challenges,” he said.

Shanmugan did not respond to requests for an interview.

The Malacca assembly was dissolved on October 4 after four assemblymen – Idris Haron (Sg Udang-BN), Nor Azman Hassan (Pantai Kundor-BN), Norhizam Hassan Baktee (Pengkalan Batu-Ind) and Noor Effandi Ahmad (Telok Mas-Bersatu) – withdrew their support for Chief Minister Sulaiman Md Ali.

All 28 state seats are set to see multi-cornered fights as BN, PN and PH are set to go against each other.

A total of 22 independent candidates will also participate in the state polls, which will take place on November 20. – November 15, 2021.