WE should do away with adversarial politics and work in the interest of the people as what elected representatives should be doing, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) sole candidate for the Johor state election, R Arangkannal said.
“I have no problems working together with Barisan Nasional (BN), Perikatan Nasional (Perikatan) and Pakatan Harapan members if I’m elected for the seat. The people’s interest is paramount.
“Even if I don’t win, I will continue serving the constituents here as I have been doing since 2009,” he told FocusM, in a short interview.
Arangkannal, 46, will be contesting for the Kota Iskandar state seat in the Johor state election scheduled for March 12.
Born in Tasik Gelugor, Penang, Arangkannal grew up in Kedah and completed his schooling there. He later completed a Degree in Mass Communication in Universiti Sains Malaysia.
He then worked in Singapore for 20 years for a US-based broadcasting company, travelling to and fro to the island state from Nusajaya.
The PSM leader is also an accomplished film maker, winning the Best Film Award 9th Norway Tamil Filem Festival. He had also won accolades from the Freedom Film Network (FFN), Film Directors Association of Malaysia (FDAM) and TV Producers Association (PTVM).
“PSM had its base here since 2009 and I have served the people here for years now. When the party leadership suggested for me to contest, I took up the challenge,” stated Arangkannal, who is also Johor PSM state committee member.
Touching on Arangkannal’s candidacy, PSM deputy chairperson S Arutchelvan acknowledged that it would be extremely tough for his party to win the seat as they were the underdogs compared to the three coalitions contesting.
Youngsters disenfranchised with “elite politics”
However, he said his party decided to contest for the seat due one key factor; the youth’s disinterest in voting despite the age limit being lowered to 18.
“The number of voters in Kota Iskandar soared from about 60,000 to 100,000. It’s probably due to the Undi18.
“But our survey found that youngsters here are not that interested to vote because they are fed up with ‘elite politics’ and what they stood for.
“Plus, with the anti-party hopping law still nowhere in sight, they are not confident of the process as of now,” Arutchelvan told FocusM.
Hence, he added, PSM decided to field a candidate there to show youngsters that there was an alternative to the big guns contesting there.
“For example, Perikatan had mentioned that their candidates will be signing an anti-corruption pledge.
“But PSM candidates will doing public asset declaration yearly, a practice we have been honouring since our inception,” Arutchelvan quipped.
On their agenda, Arutchelvan said that his party would be focused on job creation and soaring prices of goods.
“The people in Kota Iskandar are mostly from the low-income group compared to those living in Johor Bahru. Plus, COVID-19 has affected the people here badly with many losing their jobs.
“These are some of the issues we will be addressing to help the people here,” he remarked. – Feb 22, 2022.
