Suhaizan (fourth from right) with Indian NGO representatives at the JICCI office in Johor Baru.
NEWLY elected Pulai MP Suhaizan Kayat hopes to address education and poverty problems among the Indian community in his constituency.
Suhaizan said these were among the issues brought up by the community during the Pulai by-election recently.
“One concern is the increasing number of school drop-outs among the Indian community, especially male students.
“We may come up with a programme to support and motivate the group to stay in school,” he said after an event with Indian non-governmental organisations (NGOs) at the Johor Indian Chambers of Commerce and Industry (JICCI) office in Johor Baru.
Suhaizan also hoped the Indian community in Pulai, especially NGOs and community leaders, could assist him in understanding their problems and to help address them effectively.
“I hope they can be my eyes and ears. It will not be possible for me to meet each and every person,” he said.
In his speech during the event, Suhaizan thanked the Indian community for their support throughout the Pulai by-election.
“I hope to have more sessions with Indian NGOs and leaders in the future as a way for me to get to know the people better,” he said.
JICCI president AN Chandran hoped Suhaizan would continue listening to the grouses of the Indian community, including businesses.
“I am in full support of the MP’s idea to come up with a programme to address the school drop-out problem,” he said.
Suhaizan, who is from Pakatan Harapan, won the Pulai parliamentary seat with a 18,641 majority.
He was in a three-cornered fight against Perikatan Nasional’s Zulkifli Jaafar and Independent candidate Samsudin Mohamad Fauzi.
The Pulai by-election was triggered by the death of former Pulai MP Datuk Seri Salahuddin Ayub.