By Nasuha Badrul Huzaini
ADJACENT to Port Klang lies the state constituency of Pandamaran — a town that houses over 205,000 people and whose historical roots stretch back to the days of the Malayan Emergency in the 1950s.
Today, it is represented by Leong Tuck Chee, a Klangborn who took on the role of state assemblyman in 2018. Being relatively new to the job has never once been a setback for Leong. Armed with patience to listen and a passion to serve, he has helped to overcome many obstacles for the 60,000 voters of Pandamaran and their families.
Selangor Journal (SJ): What is the main industry in your constituency?
Leong Tuck Chee (LTC): Pandamaran is well known for its light industries, seafood restaurants and local delicacies such as bak kut teh and cai bao.
SJ: What is the main attraction in Pandamaran?
LTC: Undeniably, Pandamaran’s famous hawker stalls have become one of the main reasons why many people are willing to travel to the constituency. There are plenty of delicious street food available for visitors to savour.
Apart from that, Pandamaran is also quite famous for its houses of worship such as the Hindu and Buddhist temples.
SJ: What are the concerns raised by your constituents and how do you address them?
LTC: Among the problems faced by the residents of Pandamaran is flooding. For the record, the last flooding incident happened on August 18 this year.
Flooding tends to happen whenever there is heavy rainfall and high tide. A watergate in the area cannot be opened to allow rain water to pass through and flow to the sea.
To overcome this, I have urged the Drainage and Irrigation Department (JPS) and the Klang Municipal Council (MPK) to upgrade the flood mitigation system and always perform maintenance on the monsoon drain.
As of now, from what I have been told, JPS and MPK have agreed to build a new monsoon drain and MPK has opened the tender for the purpose. The work is expected to start by the end of September or early October.
SJ: What are your achievements so far in your constituency?
LTC: The flood issue is one of the most challenging I’ve had to deal with.
As Pandamaran’s representative, I’ve worked hard to ensure that many of our flood mitigation efforts are working as they should be. Among my achievements is the upgraded watergate which helps to prevent floods during heavy downpours.
I also helped to upgrade the Jalan Papan Morning Market’s building structure.
Apart from these, there is a famous bowl landmark in Pandamaran which I worked on. In the old days, the Chinese community used this kind of bowls for food, hence the landmark symbolises that the people of Kampung Baru Pandamaran will always have enough food and clothing.
SJ: What are some of your problem-solving methods?
LTC: Ever since I won this seat in the last General Election, I have made it a must for myself to hold monthly meetings with the local councillors and the relevant departments so that I can stay updated on all the issues.
This also allows me to be able to give feedback to my constituents. I also always meet up with members of the Residents Associations and Rukun Tetangga Areas to discuss their problems within the community.
I use a casual approach by ‘going down to the ground’ and will spend time at a coffee shop or the local market to talk to the people without many protocols in place. This helps me to see things from their point of view and allows me to understand their problems better.
This article first appeared in the Selangor Journal monthly September edition, published on September 6, 2021.
