MELAKA: Perikatan Nasional candidate for Paya Rumput Rafie Ahmad wants to continue the development initiatives undertaken by the previous assemblyman while addressing residents’ concerns over flooding and traffic congestion in the constituency.
Rafie said the issues were among the main complaints raised by residents during the first three days of campaigning, with traffic congestion partly attributed to the large number of traffic lights in the area.
He said he also wanted to address the needs of residents as Paya Rumput continued to experience population growth.
“My hopes for Paya Rumput go beyond seeing taller buildings or wider roads. I want to see our children receive a good education, our young people have opportunities to build their future, mothers have avenues to earn an income, and every family enjoy a better quality of life,” he said.
He said development should not be measured solely by physical infrastructure, but also by how much people’s lives could be improved.
“Ultimately, development is not just about what we build, but whose lives we manage to improve.
“I do not want to make promises that I may not be able to fulfil. If entrusted with the responsibility, I will do my best to carry it out. I want to continue listening to the community, learning from shortcomings and working towards solutions,” he said.
Rafie said he was ready to shoulder the responsibility and work with the people, regardless of their race, age or background, to make Paya Rumput a better place to live and raise future generations.
He said cooperation between Barisan Nasional (BN) and PN under the Muafakat Melaka slogan had given their campaign machinery an advantage, with both sides working together to reach out to voters.
He said the approach was important as Paya Rumput had more than 46,000 voters from various ethnic backgrounds.
Of the total, more than 30,000 were Malay voters, while over 13,000 were Chinese and nearly 3,000 were Indian.
“We do not differentiate based on race, religion or background. Instead, we work fairly for all communities, be they Malay, Chinese or Indian,” he said.
Rafie is facing a three-cornered contest in Paya Rumput against Pakatan Harapan candidate Datuk Azman Abidin and Abdul Rashid Abu Bakar of Parti Bersama Malaysia.
In the 2021 Melaka election, BN’s Datuk Rais Yasin won the seat with 6,830 votes.
For this election, the seat was allocated to PN as part of the cooperation between BN and PN, while Rais is contesting in Sungai Udang.