All about team work: Saw (fourth from left), Mansor (third from left) and other party representatives posing together after the Bayan Baru Umno machinery launch held at the Penang Golf Club, Bayan Baru, Penang. — LIM BENG TATT/The Star
GEORGE TOWN: MCA’s poster girl Saw Yee Fung is the first potential election candidate to launch her election machinery in Penang.
Possibly the youngest person to be fielded as a candidate by Penang MCA, she received the Barisan Nasional flags that would form part of her campaign gear yesterday at the launch of Bayan Baru Umno’s election machinery.
“I know that it will be a tough fight, but I am hopeful that people want a change,” said Saw, who is Penang MCA’s Bayan Baru coordinator.
Saw, 33, has become a familiar face in Bayan Baru, walking around almost every day to meet locals and understand the improvements they seek to their quality of life.
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“Bayan Baru people are open-minded and want someone young and fresh, which I represent. They have been positive about change,” she said.
Before the dissolution of Parliament, the Bayan Baru MP was Sim Tze Tzin, 46, from PKR, who was deputy agriculture and agro-based industry minister during the 22 months of Pakatan Harapan administration.
Saw, the eldest of three siblings, is a Penangite with a bachelor’s degree in actuarial mathematics and finance. She also holds a master’s degree in economics from Universiti Malaya.
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“From the past few months of meeting people, I found many local issues that have not been resolved by their current representative.
“The traffic jams have been going on for years and are getting more serious. Then there are the floods,” she said.
Saw said she was troubled that Batu Maung was flooded two days in a row, adding that when residents told her that the floods were due to earthworks for a flood mitigation project there.
Bayan Baru Umno chief Datuk Mansor Musa, who launched his division’s election machinery, said although it had not been announced officially, Saw was the likeliest candidate for the parliamentary seat.
“We need to be committed to the people and with young voters now, the narrative has to change.
“We will work hard to make sure the chosen candidate is successful,” he said.
