P. PRABAKARAN became the youngest lawmaker in 2018 with big ambitions and plans for the Batu constituency.

And although he had four years to show his capabilities, almost half that time was spent dealing with the Covid-19 pandemic.

That meant his plans of providing better and decent housing for the B40 areas had to be put on hold, even if discussions with developers and Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) started three years ago in 2019.

“This is my major manifesto this time around,” the 26-year-old bachelor told The Malaysian Insight.

“I look at the current housing in B40 areas and feel it is not suitable in this era.

“For one, the houses are so small. They are between 550 and 600 sq ft.”

Prabakaran brought in a few developers but during the earlier days, the developers had problems with DBKL over their strict standard operating procedure.

“That was one of the challenges I faced. So now I have to come out with a win-win situation for both the developers and DBKL.”

He said his instructions to the developers were pretty straightforward.

“Let’s say the project is on two-acre land. One acre will be for housing and the rest the developer can have mixed development. It is up to them.

“But the houses should be comfortable, minimum 1,000 sq ft, three rooms, two bathrooms. This is my major manifesto.

“It is difficult but workable,” Prabakaran said.

Prabakaran, however, knows it will be a daunting task for him to retain the seat with such a crowded field in Batu for the upcoming election.

The 10-cornered fight in Batu is the most crowded contest in the general election.

There are six candidates from major coalitions and political parties vying for the parliamentary constituency. Prabakaran (Pakatan Harapan), A. Kohilan Pillay (Barisan Nasional), Azhar Yahya (Perikatan Nasional), Wan Azliana Wan Adnan (Pejuang), Naganathan Pillai (Warisan) and Mohd Zulkifli Abdul Fattah (Parti Rakyat Malaysia).

They will be competing against four Independent candidates – Chua Tian Chang (Tian Chua), Siti Zabedah Kasim, Nur Fathiah Syazwana Shaharudin and Too Cheng Huat.

The Batu constituency is made up of more than 113,000 voters, after those aged between 18 and 20 are added in the mix with the automatic voter registration.

Of the total, Malays comprise 43%, followed by Chinese (30%), Indians (20%) and others (7%).

He described Batu as a “Mini Malaysia”, adding that his biggest voter bases are the Chinese and Indians.

Prabakaran, however, is confident he can win over the Malay voters.

“I am from a Malay village (Taman Pelangi). The Malays there know me and have pledged their support.

“I have also made myself known in Taman Batu Muda, which is fully controlled by BN. I carried out many programmes there, fixing the playing field, providing motorcycle parking.

“In April, we took DBKL there and the local authority approved RM3.5 million to improve the road and drainage. That is a big achievement and people there know this.”

Below are excerpts from the interview:

Q: If PKR had dropped you and fielded Tian Chua here again, would you have stood as an Independent?

A: No, I wouldn’t. I would have supported Tian Chua 100% because I am a party man. We don’t want to break the party.

Q: How did you get chosen to contest here again?

A: Rafizi (Rafizi Ramli, PKR deputy president) came out with a filtration system for the candidate through his Invoke digital platform for research. They researched every candidate. That was how they identified who was the right person. Furthermore, whoever won the party elections a few months back had more say on who can stand. Everyone submitted names for candidates from the division level, and this went to the top, to Anwar (PKR president Anwar Ibrahim) for endorsement. The system chooses the right candidate. Even at the Batu division – the first level of filtration – Tian Chua’s name was not there. The leadership knew that Tian Chua wanted to contest under PH as he was holding press conferences and issuing statements that he wanted to contest in Batu.

Q: Did Tian Chua approach you?

A: That happened last week. Tian Chua contacted me through one of my people. We have evidence, screenshots and all. He said I should return my watikah (letter of authorisation to contest) to Anwar, to be given to him instead. He also said I should go to a state seat. He approached my guy. I don’t have to hide anything.

Q: But you did tell Tian Chua in a media report to pull back his candidacy. Why?

A: Because our agenda is the same. I am from PKR, and he was a former PKR member. And we both want Anwar as the next prime minister. I don’t want the voters to be confused.

Q: When did this fallout between you and Tian Chua happen?

A: During the Sheraton Move. Although we were in the same party, political principles separated us. He was involved directly in the Sheraton Move. He held press conferences with Azmin (former PKR deputy president Mohamed Azmin Ali). Although in the end he pulled back, the party was quite upset with him. He also did not want to give up his GLC (government-linked company) position until they warned him with action.

Q: What do you think of your chances now with a bigger field?

A: The confidence of winning is there but I am working harder because I don’t want this to be just because I stand under PH, I am winning. I want to win because of me. Although it is tough, one against nine, I want to show that it is because of Prabakaran, PH won here. I want it that way.

Q: The last time you did well was because you had the PH machinery behind you and Tian Chua threw his support behind you. You are using your own team now, and Tian Chua is challenging you. How will these affect your chances?

A. It’s not me versus Tian Chua. I admit Tian Chua helped me. But I can also say that whoever contested then would have won. Our political principles now are different. He chose the wrong path. I still stick with Anwar although I was tested with many challenges in the party, and on the ground, and I have survived. So, why shouldn’t I stand in Batu again? I have my own election machinery, the PH machinery. I don’t have any big scandals, why don’t I deserve to win? The people who brought in Tian Chua in 2008 and made him win are now with me. His decision to stand as an Independent is harming PKR in Batu, and that is why even his supporters are angry with him.

Q: Who do you think will be your strongest challenger?

A: PN’s Ustaz Azhar. He is a local boy. Only three locals are contesting here, the others are outsiders. Azhar, who is from PAS, is active here. In 2018, PAS had 10,000 votes while Gerakan had 13,000 votes. Now Gerakan is under PN, so their votes may go to PAS. But the votes will be split. My majority then was 24,000.

Q: What did you achieve in your first term? And what are the unresolved issues?

A: There are lots of unresolved issues. Because of Covid-19, we could not deliver what we promised. In 2018, 2019 and 2022, I was so active that I solved many important issues. The biggest issue was the floods. Worked with DBKL to improve the drainage system. Now we only have flash floods on the roads because of clogging. The best initiative was the free bus service in Batu. No one has done this. I proposed this to DBKL. The free bus service is mostly in Kuala Lumpur where foreigners and tourists use them. We proposed to bring the free bus service to the residential area where most of the B40s stay. It was approved. From the Batu Muda low-cost housing until the urban transformation centre in Bandar Baru Sentul, where there are low-cost flats, five schools, a government health clinic, a mosque and a church. Now Sentul has a free bus service every hour and it’s because of me.

Q: What have you learnt from being a MP?

A: You need to be in the field to know the issues and problems the people are facing. That is the most important thing. When I am in the field, I know what needs to be done. When I don’t and I hear from my team, I don’t understand. You need to personally meet and talk to them. Engagement is very important. Like what I did in residential areas, I engaged with the residents associations, so most of the issues raised are solved.

Q: How would you work differently if you won again?

A: I’m going to bring my office and myself more into the field. I’m going to build more service centres in more populated areas. At the moment I only have one. If we win and are in the government, I’m going to bring my services to the people because I feel people don’t know where to go for help. I will bring government agencies like DBKL, the housing department, and the welfare department. This time we have contacts of all government agencies. We will set up mini bases in Bandar baru Sentul, Sentul and Jinjang. – November 13, 2022.