KUCHING: Not to be outdone by his opponent, DAP’s Batu Kawah candidate Dr Kelvin Yii has presented his plans for locals, pledging to ensure locals are empowered to face challenges in the post-Covid-19 pandemic environment.

       Yii said he will be focussing on the core areas of supporting the local economy, caring for the elderly and vulnerable, developing local talent, building a resilient community and improving the living standards of locals.

       On supporting the local economy, Yii said he will ensure better food supply and distribution through a “Farm to Table” programme and promote job creation via various initiatives in Batu Kawah and Kuching as a whole.

       To improve the care support system for the elderly and the vulnerable, Yii said he will set up the #KawahYii Community Responders, which is a dedicated team, and a toll-free line for counselling and to report domestic violence and sexual abuse.

       At the same time, Yii also said there will be an emphasis on reskilling and capacity building initiatives, in collaboration with higher education institutions and industry players.

       “Another initiative is to improve access to reading materials through the ‘Mobile Community Library’ to provide access to books for underserved communities and organise digital capacity building initiatives for entrepreneurs,” he said during a press conference at DAP’s HQ near Kuching on Friday (Dec 10).

       Yii also said he will encourage volunteerism in the Batu Kawah constituency through the #KawahYii Community Builders initiative, which will be driving welfare programmes such as food banks, health screenings, mental health support in other constituencies around Kuching.

       To improve the quality of life for locals, Yii pledged to establish a “rent-to-own housing scheme”, which aims to provide affordable homes for all locals, especially young adults.

       “Additionally, we will develop and implement a Batu Kawah Flood Mitigation Plan to assess and formulate solutions to address the issue of recurring flash floods and improve public transport access for Batu Kawah residents to ensure better connectivity to nearby commercial centres.”

       Yii said the Covid-19 pandemic adversely impacted many, where some had lost their jobs, family members, and others also faced problems in putting food on the table.

       “To make matters worse, while we’re still grappling with the Covid-19 economic downturn, prices of goods are soaring.

       “Food items from vegetables, chickens, fish, and other necessities and raw materials are rising higher than people’s take-home pay.

       “Essentially, Sarawakians are hit with a triple crisis - Covid-19, economic and rising living costs,” said Yii.

       Yii stressed that sound policy interventions and measures should be targeted to vulnerable groups and youths must be empowered.

       “The time to act is now. We need to empower the community. That is our mission. We want to build Sarawakians, not just Sarawak.

       “As we build Sarawakians, we are strengthening Batu Kawah.”

       Batu Kawah is among the hotly contested state seats in the 12th state election, as Yii will take on Gabungan Parti Sarawak (GPS) candidate Datuk Seri Dr Sim Kui Hian, Parti Bumi Kenyalang’s Chai Keuh Khun, and Sarawak People’s Aspiration party Fong Pau Teck.

       In the 2016 Sarawak state election, Dr Sim won the Batu Kawah seat with 6,414 votes against DAP’s 4,329.

       Dr Sim also unveiled his manifesto on Thursday (Dec 9), pledging that no one will be left behind as the economy rebounds.

       Dr Sim also pledged to set up affordable housing, to provide both monetary and non-monetary assistance to all types of schools, and among others.

       Early voting will be on Dec 14 and polling on Dec 18.