Farming activists to contest for Perak seats under PSM
KOTA BARU: Two farming activists will be contesting for state seats in Perak under the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) ticket in the coming general election.
Brothers Andy Chin Kwai Heng and Chin Kwai Leong, named to contest the Tronoh and Menglembu state seats under the Batu Gajah parliamentary constituency in Perak, want to raise issues affecting the farmers.
Andy, an accounting graduate from an Australian university, had turned to farming after the Asian financial crisis took a toll on his job as a remisier in the Klang Valley two decades ago.
“People need food to survive. Food security is vital to national security, but to promote food security, farmers need land security,” said the 52-year-old farmer.
He said unfortunately more and more farmers were being served with eviction notices as there were no laws to keep farms intact.
Andy said it was high time that farmers pressured the state authorities into protecting farmlands from being wiped out in favour of the construction industry.
Kwai Leong, who studied electronics in Taiwan, wants farmers’ concerns to be effectively tackled at the state legislative assembly.
“If we need to trade the farmers’ straw hat for the lawmaker’s songkok, so be it – as long as we can effectively protect the rights of farmers in the interest of the majority, who need food to survive,” said Kwai Leong.
Another PSM candidate S. Shanmugam expressed gratitude to the party for providing a platform for ordinary folk like him to contest seats in the election.
Shanmugam quit his job as a lorry driver to join Grab, as it provided him with flexible hours to attend to party matters in the run up to the 14th General Election.
“Ordinary people like us are part of the ordinary majority.
“We know the real grievances on the ground, and will certainly look into addressing these long-standing socio-economic grouses if given a mandate,” said the 40-year-old who is fielded in Port Klang.