‘Mah-nifesto’ includes The Bund of Teluk Intan

Ready for battle: Mah (centre) with Mohd Azhar (left) and Kong showing the manifesto at the launch in Teluk Intan.

TELUK INTAN: Imagine Shanghai’s picturesque The Bund, right along Sungai Perak here.

Plans to spruce up the riverbank, fashioned after The Bund of Shanghai, are included in incumbent MP Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong’s manifesto.

Using a word play on his surname, his “Mah-nifesto BN Teluk Intan Majulah Teluk Intan” (Progress for Teluk Intan) consist eight pledges, with much focus given to the constituency’s tourism development.

He said efforts would persist to ensure the Leaning Tower of Teluk Intan would receive the recognition it deserved as a Unesco World Heritage Site.

“We are also proposing that museums be built, dedicated to Teluk Intan’s heritage, including one to focus on the days when the town was known as Anson Bay,” he said at the launch of his manifesto yesterday.

Mah also pledged to do more for education with free tuition classes for primary and secondary school students, to be handled by his service centre together with other educational institutions.

He said the project for Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris (UPSI) is due to be completed in 2020, which is four years earlier than its expected date.

“I know there are some who have gone to the project site, took photos of an empty land then asked about the university we had promised.

“The usual timeframe to build a university takes about 10 years, from the proposal stage to its construction. For the Teluk Intan UPSI, its proposal was mooted at the end of 2014 and had undergone multiple changes in land acquisition,” he said.

From what was to be a 7.2ha land for the university, Mah said it was now 32.4ha.

Mah also said that flood mitigation projects were already taking place in Teluk Intan, adding that floods were one of the pressing concerns of residents.

Other topics addressed in Mah’s manifesto include economic transformation, affordable housing, and community service and safety.

On public safety, he said the plan was to increase the number of CCTVs throughout the town.

“There are now 20 CCTVs installed at high crime rate areas,” Mah said.

Asked about sentiments on the ground, Mah said: “We have a better fighting chance this time.

“Voters should look at our track record, instead of looking to someone else who came from another place promising them the moon and stars,” said Mah, referring to his opponent, DAP’s Nga Kor Ming.

Mah will be in a three-cornered battle with Nga and PAS’ Ahmad Ramadzan Ahmad Daud.

Also present with Mah yesterday were the MCA candidate for Pasir Bedamar state seat Datuk Kong Sun Chin and Umno candidate for Changkat Jong state seat Datuk Mohd Azhar Jamaluddin.