Ah Cheng eager to take on challenges if selected

KUALA TERENGGANU: Hometown boy Toh Seng Cheng will get his feet wet in politics in the 14th General Election, and the Kuala Terengganu MCA division secretary is eager to take the plunge.

The 48yearold general manager of a housing development company said years of community work have prepared him to serve and help the people.

“If we win, we can finally have a voice again in the state assembly,” said Seng Cheng, who is tipped to contest the Bandar state seat.

When contacted, state MCA chief Datuk Toh Chin Yaw said Seng Cheng had already been endorsed by the party and was now only waiting for the announcement by the Barisan Nasional chairman.

Seng Cheng, known simply as Ah Cheng in the community, said the Chinese were left without a voice in the assembly after Chin Yaw lost the seat to PKR’s Azan Ismail in 2013.

He said the community is the last to receive news from the assembly, unlike the times when Chin Yaw was the state representative.

“We also cannot get involved in the decisionmaking process,” he said.

Seng Cheng said he sensed growing support for MCA in recent years.

“From my conversations with the people, I know they supported the Opposition in 2013 but they often come to seek our help,” he said.

However, he worries about the younger voters who left Terengganu for better prospects in bigger cities like Kuala Lumpur.

“They lack understanding of the real situation here. They are influenced by national issues and vote for the Opposition.

“They then return to Kuala Lumpur while the locals bear the brunt of their actions,” he said.

But he feels this year will be different as the party has taken the fight to win over voters to social media.

“There used to be many allega tions made about us but we’ve since taken proactive steps to correct the perception by making our work known through social media,” Seng Cheng said.

One of his longterm goals is to get local youths to see opportunities in their own state instead of being lured by the big cities.

He noted that outsiders see business potential in Terengganu in areas such as sports tourism and event management, and this could be to benefit of local youngsters’.

The Bandar seat, a traditional MCA stronghold, fell to PKR in 2013.

It is one of the four state seats within the Kuala Terengganu parliamentary constituency, the others being Wakaf Mempelam, Ladang and Batu Buruk.

They lack understanding of the real situation here. They are influenced by national issues and vote for the Opposition. Toh Teng Cheng