Muda’s Rashifa Aljunied aiming to be Puteri Wangsa’s ‘loudest voice’

JOHOR BAHRU: Muda’s Puteri Wangsa candidate, Rashifa Aljunied, intends to be the constituency’s “loudest voice”, to help highlight local concerns if she is elected in the Johor polls tomorrow.

Although she is contesting an election for the first time, she is unfazed by rivals who are more focused on national issues or scuffles with their opponents.

Instead, she has centred her campaign on local issues after spending the past four years in Puteri Wangsa where she served as an aide to former assemblyman Amira Aisya Abdul Aziz.

Chief among these issues are flooding, affordable homes, and the development of data centres.

Speaking to FMT, she said the rising cost of living was another concern for locals, and that she was “shocked to discover that prices in Johor Bahru are now comparable to Kuala Lumpur”.

“I will not regret talking about issues that affect Puteri Wangsa and the big ideas I have for the constituency,” she added.

Rashifa, who studied international relations at Universiti Malaya, decided to join Muda after the 2022 “Tangkap Azam Baki” rally in Kuala Lumpur.

The 26-year-old said she was summoned by the police for participating in the rally, although she was not part of any political party at the time.

“I felt it was unfair that a young person who wanted to voice her concerns was stopped. I was drawn into politics out of frustration and anger,” she said.

When asked what constituents wanted of their elected representatives, Rashifa said voters wanted assemblymen to keep their promises.

She said Muda would not turn its back on those who voted for the party.

“We won’t betray our voters and U-turn on policies that we want to push,” she said.

Rashifa faces a five-cornered contest for the seat, against Pakatan Harapan’s Maszlee Malik, Barisan Nasional’s Teow Chia Ling, Bersama’s Nicholas Paul Vincent and independent candidate Wang Wee Siong.