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By : John Fernandez (DAP-Seremban)
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I AM a founder member of the DAP and have been struggling for Malaysians since the party’s formation in 1966. I joined the late Devan Nair, Dr Chen Man Hin, Lim Kit Siang and Liew Ah Kim to found DAP but left the party for 14 years following differences with the leadership. I rejoined in 2000.
I served as state assemblyman for the then Rasah state seat from 1974 to 1978, have lost several elections as both a DAP candidate and an independent, and now serve as Seremban MP on a DAP ticket.
In all this time, I have seen, and continue to see, many issues come to head – issues afflicting my constituents as well as Malaysians in general.
One issue that continues to dog Malaysians is abandoned housing schemes. And this is one of the major problems faced by the 80,000 voters in Seremban. The issue of abandoned projects in my constituency is quite worrying. As mentioned by many MPs in Parliament proceedings, these abandoned projects place a heavy burden on housebuyers. They are unable to move into their unfinished houses, but have to continue servicing their bank loans on top of their monthly rental for their current residence.
Being a veteran in the legal arena with 34 years’ experience, I have also seen the difficulties faced by couples seeking divorce due to reconciliation proceedings as provided for under the Law Reform (Marriage and Divorce) Act 1976. In a thousand so-called reconciliation proceedings, I have yet to hear of any conclusion to divorce proceedings and this is a waste of time. In the event a divorce is granted, it still takes six months for the certificate to be issued. I suggest that this period be reduced to one month. I want to try and introduce changes to the legislation that governs this aspect of divorce among those subject to civil procedures in this matter.
There is also the issue of massive traffic congestion in Seremban on weekends and poor drainage that almost guarantees floods in many parts of my constituency after a downpour, besides the rising crime rate. Seremban folk are suffering and nothing much is being done to find permanent solutions to these problems. Through my position as Seremban MP, I want to try and find solutions to these problems. There is a serious need for the federal government to step in and help the people.
The Barisan Nasional is the governing body, so it should deliver the goods, while we are here to co-operate with the government. In the end, it should be the people who become the beneficiaries.
