JOHOR BARU: There must be an effective Opposition bloc in Johor to ensure issues effecting regular people are resolved by the state, says Johor Jaya candidate Victor Chen Hain Kai.

       He said this was why he chose to contest under Parti Warisan rather than joining the ruling coalition.

       He said an effective Opposition was important for check and balance.

       “I prefer to fight for the people through Warisan because I believe the party can be an effective Opposition since its leaders have not signed any MOU with the government,” he said.

       Chen was referring to the memorandum of understanding inked between Pakatan Harapan and the Federal Government in September last year, which was aimed at reforms and political stability for the nation.

       He said Warisan’s decision to contest six seats in the Johor election reflected the confidence of the Sabah-based party.

       “We are confident that we can be very effective at policing the government and giving Johoreans a sense of belonging by giving them a voice at the state level,” he added.Chen said Barisan Nasional should already have solutions to issues faced by locals.

       “Johoreans are facing problems such as the price hike of essential goods, increased costs of doing business, a huge number of jobs lost, and social issues due to the closure of the Johor-Singapore border.“These problems did not happen just a week ago or a few days ago – people have been suffering from all these issues for more than a year,” he said.

       Besides Johor Jaya, Warisan is contesting in Bekok (A. Sandara Segaran), Pekan Nanas (Hishamuddin Busri), Mahkota (Mohamed Noor Suleiman), Bukit Batu (Lee Ming Wen) and Permas (Mohamed Ridza Busu).