KUALA LUMPUR: Massive development in Damansara is something that residents in the parliamentary constituency want their next MP to seriously look into.
Gobind Singh Deo, a contender for the seat for Pakatan Harapan, said he would focus on ways to encourage sustainable development in the area.
The DAP deputy chairman acknowledged that the constituency had seen large-scale development over the years, and this had become a major grievance for residents.
“This is happening not only in Damansara, but also surrounding areas.
“We need to look at the different areas and deal with them individually.
“I will work closely with the relevant state assemblymen and respective councillors (if I am elected),” said Gobind, who has moved from Puchong to contest Damansara in GE15.
Asked about his plans to better engage with his constituents on a regular basis, Gobind said: “It is important for an MP to connect with their constituents, and this can be done in many ways.
“I went beyond town hall meetings as a previous MP in Puchong and did it via invitations to different talks, in addition to my work in Parliament.
“Ultimately, it’s the engagement with the people and it depends on invitations we receive from the different people.”
Many residents in Damansara have expressed their wish to see better governance and transparency, and according to them, the last MP did not do enough to function as the people’s representative (wakil rakyat).
Gobind said the important thing was to identify problems impacting the different areas and find a solution at the state and federal levels, for example, the issues of abandoned housing projects and floods.
“We need to deal with the flooding problems quickly; from what we saw last year, the damage to properties was extensive.
“It’s important to work on developing a system for years to come as soon as we can, and not just for a few months in the year.
“Work has started on the ground and I will certainly raise the issue in Parliament to find solutions to these problems,” he added.
On Wednesday night, Gobind addressed a crowd of about 500 people at a ceramah in Taman Segambut here.
He is replacing incumbent Tony Pua in Damansara while Yeo Bee Yin, the incumbent MP for Bakri, Johor, is contesting in Puchong.
In GE14, Pua won Damansara with a whopping 121,283-vote majority.
Damansara (population 437,132) has the third highest number of voters in the country at 239,103 (Chinese 57.8%, Malay 33.7%, and Indian 7.7%).
