AYER HITAM: Incumbent Semarang Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Samsolbari Jamali is certainly no stranger to the constituency.
This will be his sixth election since contesting in the state seat in 2004, and he is again banking on his track record of serving his constituents to succeed in his bid.
“Many of the children who were just starting school are now my voters,” said the 66-year-old.
He added that while Semarang is a rural seat with many oil palm smallholders, the people wanted good infrastructure including better roads, electricity, water and Internet connectivity.
“I have been doing my best to bridge the gap between the rural and town folk,” he said, adding that he also pushed for pineapple cultivation in his area when he was chairman of the Malaysian Pineapple Industry Board
Samsolbari said that while most people regard peat soil as “useless wasteland”, research is being carried out on plans to plant pineapples between the oil palm trees on this land.
“I mooted the idea of Semarang peat valley five years ago, and so far it is turning out to be a success in helping people increase their income, benefiting at least 10 villages,” he added.
On his campaign, Samsolbari said he is not taking it easy and is doing his best to reach out to all voters.
Meanwhile, Pakatan Harapan candidate for Stulang, Andrew Chen, who is going for his forth term as assemblyman, said the campaign now is much different from what it was in 2013 when he first contested.
Chen said mega ceramah were very popular then, but now many people prefer to listen to talks on their devices.
“Pakatan is focusing on physically reaching out to voters in small groups or at forums. Our strategy is more engagement with small groups at coffee shops,” he said.
Chen, who is Stulang assemblyman for three terms, said the number of old residents had increased over the years.
“We will keep on helping them because Stulang is an ageing constituency, where around 40% of voters are old people and most are 55 years and above,” he said.
Chen said the constituency’s strategic location along the border made effective management a priority, which was why he had consistently pushed for smoother travel between Johor and Singapore.
These two are the longest serving veterans among the 56 candidates in the Johor state assembly.
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