BN candidate pledges to solve problems faced by Pantai Puteri fishermen

MELAKA: The Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Pantai Kundor, Tuminah Kadi has pledged to prioritise solving the problems faced by the fishing community in the Pantai Puteri area if she secures a win in the Melaka state election later this month.

She said all this while fishermen in the area have been complaining to her about their problems.

"I have been living in Taman Tanah Merah Jaya for 24 years, the Pantai Puteri fishing jetty has become my daily commute where I will buy seafood products and downstream products for my family's needs.

"So one of my missions is to set up a regulatory body to manage, among others, the downstream products of fishermen so that they can increase their income," she told Bernama here.

Tuminah, 54, affectionately known as 'Kak Ina' by the villagers, said she would also focus on efforts to upgrade fisheries infrastructure affected by erosion.

She said the lack of efforts to overcome the problem is affecting fishermen's income.

Tuminah, who is also Tanah Merah Jaya Wanita UMNO chief is running against the branch's former chief Datuk Nor Azman Hassan, who is contesting on a Pakatan Harapan (PH) ticket after he withdrew his support for Chief Minister Datuk Seri Sulaiman Md Ali's leadership which prompted the dissolution of the state assembly.

Another contender for the seat is Mohd Ridzwan Mustafa from Perikatan Nasional (PN).

In the 14th General Election, Nor Azman who represented BN then won with a majority of 772 votes after he defeated PH candidate Juhari Osman and Abdul Halim Maidin of PAS.

Tuminah, a first timer, is among the five women candidates fielded by BN in the state polls, along with Datuk Kalsom Nordin (Pengkalan Batu), Datuk Khaidhirah Abu Zahar (Rim), Siti Faizah Abdul Azis (Sungai Rambai) and Leong Hui Ying (Kesidang).

About the challenges as a woman candidate, Tuminah said it would not be a problem as she has experience in helping BN leaders in the constituency.

"I was once the welfare bureau chief and have done various services in the local community which helped me to get to know the voters in this constituency," she said, adding that she was confident voters there would remain loyal to BN.

Early voting for the polls is on Nov 16 and polling is on Nov 20.

-- BERNAMA