TITI: John Siow Kong Chun knows he is up against a giant in Chennah – Transport Minister and DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke Siew Fook.
But the MCA candidate believes he has the one thing his heavyweight rival cannot offer the rural seat: time.
“We cannot deny it is a very big challenge. If you compare resources and power, of course we cannot match him. He is a minister,” the Barisan Nasional candidate said in an interview at Pekan Titi here on July 19.
Whoever wins, Siow said, would get the same allocations as an assemblyman, but the question is who will be the one around to use them.
“I want to be an assemblyman who is easy to meet, easy to reach and always ready to go down to the ground.
“The people of Chennah deserve someone who looks after this place 24 hours a day, not only during festivals.”
Siow said he was born, raised and schooled in Chennah.
“As a local son, I understand what we need and what we lack,” he said.
Known by locals as John, he said what Chennah needs most is a reason for its young folk to stay.
“The main issue here is that teenagers have to move to the towns for opportunities. If we can create more opportunities here, I believe they can build a good future in their own hometown.”
According to Siow, tourists in Titi make “touch and go” visits because there are no complete packages to keep them in town.
“As the government or the state assemblyman, this should be our main focus. We should try to help locals here so that they can offer a complete package to tourists, which could create new opportunities for the people here.”
“When visitors stay longer, they spend more, and that creates side jobs and income for locals,” he said.
As for the young who want to return and farm, Siow said they face two barriers – no land and no technical support.
He urged the state to open up idle government land, calling it a win-win that would give locals a livelihood while earning the state premiums and taxes.
“Many want to come home and work the land, but they don’t know how. There is interest, but no opportunity,” said Siow, 37.
Siow, who graduated from Universiti Tunku Abdul Rahman with a degree in business administration, had worked as an operations manager at OCBC Bank from 2011 to 2014 before moving into business management.
The Negri Sembilan MCA Youth chief also served as a municipal councillor of Jelebu since 2024 and is also the secretary of the Titi Buddhist Association.
Siow will be taking on Loke in a straight fight in Chennah. Loke has held the seat since 2013.
