Young Seri Serdang Muda candidate brimming with ideas

AMIR Abd Hadi, Muda’s candidate for the Seri Serdang state seat in Puchong, Selangor, may be an election newbie, but the 32-year-old Chevening scholar is no political greenhorn.

The Muda secretary-general has participated in political rallies and was once the coordinator for human rights group Suaram.

“My parents are hard-core PAS supporters, and are my biggest influence. They are also my biggest supporters and have always respected my beliefs, even though I have different political beliefs from them,’’ he said of his parents Abd Hadi Shafie, 65, and Nooraini Zakaria, 62.

Amir added that when he was arrested in 2015 for participating in the Tangkap Najib rally, his parents were at the Jinjang lockup rallying for his release.

“While family discussions can often turn into political debates, we never let emotions get the best of us. We just respectfully disagree,’’ he said.

Born and bred in Seri Kembangan, Amir is familiar with the perennial issues of the township which borders Seri Serdang, and lists poorly managed rubbish, rising dengue cases, flash floods and poverty as some of the issues he

hopes to resolve if he is elected.

“Rubbish is a big problem here. Just go outside and you will see the drains are clogged with plastic and other waste.

“They are breeding ground for mosquitoes,’’ Amir said, adding that Puchong was one of the dengue hot spots in Selangor, recording 40 cases out of the 110 reported in the state.

He also aims to upgrade infrastructure and improve traffic in the area if elected.

Amir, who watched his father work as a market fruit trader while growing up, knows firsthand what hardship is all about, and wants to find a way to help poor folk earn a decent living.

He plans to establish a programme called Kongsi Rasa to enable B40 folk to access financial assistance to set up businesses.

The funding for the programme will come from the community of Seri Serdang.

“One of the projects we are mulling over is called Burgembira which is from the word ‘burger’.

“We want to provide mobile stalls so youths from the low- income group can sell burgers to earn a living,’’ he said.

“This is to give them a head start in life, and when they are financially stable, they can open their own business and the stall goes to another needy person.”

On Aug 12, Amir will go up against Abbas Salimi Azmi, 43, from Amanah and Mohd Shukor Mustaffa, 54, from Bersatu.

In GE14, Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud from Amanah won the seat against Datuk Mohamad Satim Diman from Barisan Nasional and Noor Hanim Ismail from PAS.