JOHOR BAHRU, July 1 — Despite the hustle and bustle of campaigning for the 16th Johor State Election (PRN), Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Tenang State Legislative Assembly (DUN), Elia Nadira Sabudin is still shouldering another big responsibility to complete her doctorate (PhD) studies.
For the mother of four who is studying Electrical Engineering (Control Systems) at Universiti Tun Hussein Onn Malaysia (UTHM), the struggle in the academic and political worlds has the same goal, which is to build the future of society through knowledge, education and human development.
The 43-year-old Johor Wanita Amanah Vice-Chairman said his focus was not just on gaining voter support but also on offering his academic expertise to bridge the gap in education quality between rural and urban areas.
“I think my strength is education. I want the children in Tenang not to differentiate themselves from the children in the city. They are actually equal, we can develop our children and give them better job opportunities through education,” he said in an interview with Bernama today.
The technology entrepreneur who owns a robotics education company also provides classes for school students and teachers using a syllabus that is in line with the Ministry of Education (KPM) standards.
He said the initiative could help students venture into new technology fields such as coding, which had been introduced in schools around Labis, and could thus be fully utilized to produce more local skilled workers.
Apart from that, Elia Nadira said that one of the first things he researched before contesting was the district development plan for the northern region of Johor, including a plan to develop the local community economy through the ecotourism sector.
“When we check in the Segamat 2030 local plan, the matter has been gazetted to be made into a tourism centre but today it has not happened yet. So I am here with my main focus on making Tenang a tourist destination.”
“Tenang is a place with many tourist attractions but not many people know that this area can be promoted as ecotourism, coupled with the presence of the ETS (electric train service) station in Labis, it should boost the local economy more aggressively,” he said.
Elia Nadira, who previously contested in the Bukit Pasir state seat, will face competition from two candidates who previously contested in the Tenang state seat, including a former state assemblyman (ADUN) for the area.
However, he sees the opponent’s experience as not an obstacle but rather a catalyst to offer a different approach to voters by bringing a political narrative that is fresher and closer to the hearts of the people.
“At the Barisan Nasional (BN) level, they are presenting a candidate who was previously an assemblyman (Mohd Azahar Ibrahim) and I don’t think that’s a big problem for me. They have done what they were supposed to do and today I am coming forward to do better than that,” he said.
Apart from that, Elia Nadira said the campaign atmosphere was carried out in a healthy and mature democratic spirit when all candidates from the contesting parties were able to interact and exchange views professionally.
“We are also polite to the voters, they can accept our presence with a smile and we have met with the opposing party several times, so we can sit at the table, have a drink, take pictures, there is no problem,” he said.
Apart from Mohd Azahar, in the 16th Johor state election, Elia Nadira will be challenged by Normala Sudirman from Perikatan Nasional (PN) and Independent candidate Siti Aisyah Zobir in a four-cornered contest.
A total of 172 candidates are contesting in the Johor state election which will take place on July 11, while early voting will be held on July 7.
— BERNAMA
