State polls: Pakatan's Batu Tiga candidate not banking on father's popularity

SHAH ALAM: The name Danial Al-Rashid Haron may not be familiar to many, but his late father Haron Salim Bachik was a well-known actor who appeared in many dramas on local television.

However, for the 37-year-old Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Batu Tiga state seat, his father’s popularity is not something he is looking to bank on to win in the elections this time around.

The local who has served as a member of the Shah Alam City Council (MBSA) from 2018 to 2020 is also no stranger to the residents in the area.

In addition to being a member of the MBSA Council, the Selangor Pakatan Harapan Youth leader is also directly involved in the state government administration through the Women and Family Development Standing Committee.

"Before being selected as a candidate, I worked under this committee as head of the Selangor Special Children Department (ANIS) and head of the Selangor Children Heritage Department from 2020, managing the assistance and development programme for special children and the disabled (OKU) in Selangor.

"After three years of being involved in this community-related task, I decided to pursue a Master's degree at the University of Selangor (Unisel) Shah Alam in the field of Special Education to learn more about how to manage and help these special people in Selangor," he told Bernama here.

Representing Amanah, one of the three main parties in the PH coalition, Danial Al-Rashid is placing quality, experience and planning to improve the socio-economic level of the population, including helping to empower special children and the disabled, especially in the Batu Tiga area, as a basis for gaining support.

He also does not see himself as an underdog, even though he has to face the former women, family and community development minister Datuk Seri Rina Mohd Harun.

"If you want to compare the initiatives of the state government and the Federal government in helping the people at that time (previous administration), I think the performance of the state government under the Menteri Besar (Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari) was much better, especially in terms of the people’s satisfaction and the reach of the initiatives implemented," he said.

Recalling his involvement in the political arena, Danial Al-Rashid said he was lucky to have a father who was very supportive of his chosen field despite being the odd one out compared to his siblings, who followed in their father’s footsteps.

Danial Al-Rashid is contesting the Batu Tiga seat in a three-cornered fight against Rina, who represents Perikatan Nasional (PN) and the Malaysian United Democratic Alliance’s (Muda) Saiyidah Izzati Nur Razak Maideen.- Bernama