Johor state election : Senggarang candidates to focus on issues of fishermen

BATU PAHAT, March 9 -- The issues of fishermen which affect most of the residents around Senggarang have become the focus of candidates in the state constituency in the Johor state election.

Each candidate has its own mission to resolve the problems faced by fishermen, among them on licensing among fishermen.

Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Khairul Faizi Ahmad Kamil said he intends to gather fishermen associations to delve into the issues faced by them apart from studying the problem of licensing including the legal aspect.

“Even though fishermen bring in food for the people, most of them have no licence so I want to ensure all fishermen in the constituency have the opportunity to obtain a licence.I also want to have a meeting with all fishermen to listen to their issues as they may have individual grouses,” he told Bernama recently.

However, having the experience of holding the chairman post of the Malaysian Plam Oil Certification Council (MPOCC), Khairul Faizi also wants to improve the palm oil industry by coordinating the output of palm oil in the constituency.

Meanwhile, Parti Pejuang Tanah Air (Pejuang) candidate Zalihah Jaafar said she wants to resolve the issue of river pollution in Senggarang which is affecting the source of income of fishermen in the area.

Zalihah said pollutants that flow to sea are the cause why fishermen have dwindling catches apart from not having the licence to enable them fish further in the sea.

“When river pollution occurs, fishermen could not find fish in the coastal areas, so they need to go further into the sea but they have no licence to do so,” she said.

For Barisan Nasional candidate, Mohd Yusla Ismail, he would like to focus on developing the tourism industry in Senggarang.

“Senggarang has many beaches which can be developed as tourist centres and contribute to the economy of Senggarang,” he said.

The Senggarang state seat is seeing a five-cornered fight between Khairul Faizi, Zalihah, Mohd Yusla,  Abd Hamid Jamah (Pakatan Harapan) and Independent candidate Baharudin Abdullah. 

-- BERNAMA