Mahkota polls: Flood woes the main focus of BN's Syed Hussien

KLUANG: One of the priorities of Barisan Nasional candidate Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah in the Mahkota state by-election is finding a solution to the flood problems plaguing several areas in the constituency.

He said that although the state and federal governments had resolved the flood problems in most parts, some areas still faced frequent deluges.

"There's no denying that whenever there is a continuous downpour, certain places will be affected (by floods). This issue (of floods) is a crucial matter that must be resolved.

"So, if we need to sort this problem, we will take this matter to a higher level after this,” he said when met during the Ziarah Kasih Programme at the Mahkota state constituency here on Sunday (Sept 15).

Syed Hussien said the proposal to build a retaining wall along the river to overcome the problem, previously voiced by the Mahkota state constituency incumbent, the late Datuk Sharifah Azizah Syed Zain, would be considered after getting the views of the relevant agencies.

"We will ask the relevant agencies, such as the Public Works Department (JKR) and Department of Irrigation and Drainage (DID), to get their expert opinions,” he said.

Flash floods were among the problems aired by Mahkota constituents. Johor Police chief Datuk M. Kumar also stated on Saturday (Sept 14) that they are preparing to deploy assets like boats and lorries to address flooding issues during the by-election.

The Mahkota by-election on Sept 28 will see a straight fight between Syed Hussien Syed Abdullah, 40, and Perikatan Nasional (PN)'s Mohamad Haizan Jaafar, 61, with early voting scheduled for Sept 24.

This by-election is being held following the death of its incumbent, Sharifah Azizah, 63, on Aug 2.

In the previous state election, Sharifah Azizah, representing BN, won with a majority of 5,166 votes in a four-cornered contest involving candidates from PH, PN, and Warisan. – Bernama