MENGKIBOL: Calling on young Malaysians working abroad to return home means little without creating opportunities for them to do so, says Barisan Nasional's Warren Yap Zhi Peng, who hopes to turn his own journey back from Singapore into a blueprint for others.
The first-time Barisan Nasional candidate for Mengkibol knows the sacrifices involved. After spending a decade in Singapore's banking and corporate finance sector, he returned to his hometown of Kluang in 2023, accepting a lower income to be closer to his parents and raise a family.
"People always say youths should come home. But if you don't have a plan, how are they supposed to come back?" he said in an interview.
Drawing from his own experience, Yap said one of his key proposals is to work with Singapore-based small and medium enterprises to explore remote working arrangements, allowing Malaysians to live in Kluang while continuing to work for companies across the causeway.
“Such an arrangement would enable workers to keep their jobs while spending and raising their families in Johor, helping to boost the local economy,” he said.
The finance graduate from the University of Hertfordshire said he spent 10 years serving multinational corporations, large companies and SMEs in Singapore before deciding to return home after the Covid-19 pandemic.
Since returning, Yap has served as a Kluang municipal councillor for the past two years, an experience he believes has prepared him for elected office.
"A state seat is not an internship," he said, adding that elected representatives should already possess the experience to navigate government agencies, secure allocations and resolve residents' problems effectively.
Among the issues most frequently raised by residents, he said, are ageing drainage systems and flash floods in older neighbourhoods, which he hopes to address through better infrastructure planning.
Yap noted that Mengkibol needs stronger economic drivers to retain young talent.
His manifesto includes plans to establish an e-commerce and entrepreneurship hub, promote Kluang's tourism offerings through better connectivity between attractions and revitalise new villages by developing their cultural, food and eco-tourism potential.
He also hopes to improve parks and public facilities to create a more elderly-friendly community while attracting greater investment to generate better-paying jobs.
When asked, Yap said, “Getting elected is the best platform to serve the people because it allows us to bring together the resources and government agencies needed to solve problems and implement plans that benefit the community.”
Yap will face incumbent DAP assemblyman Chu Poh Yee in a straight fight for the Mengkibol seat in the upcoming Johor election.
