KUALA LUMPUR: Two of the five candidates contesting the Gombak parliamentary seat have pledged to prioritise the efforts to enhance the education system should they obtain a mandate from the people in the country's 15th General Election (GE15) next week.

The Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk Megat Zulkarnain Omardin said he intended to obtain a 30 per cent special quota for admission to the International Islamic University Malaysia (IIUM) located in Gombak for those born in the district who have fulfilled the relevant requirements.

He said it was because the IIUM campus was built after its community leaders rejected the government's proposal to build a dam in the area in the late 1970s which would erase several villages such as Kampung Sungai Pusu, Kampung Sungai Cincin and Kampung Batu 8 from the world's map.

"The dam that was supposed to be built in Gombak was then built in the Batu area...the government then planned to build IIUM campus on the land originally designated for the dam," he said when met at the meeting with kindergarten teachers under the Community Development Department (Kemas) in the Gombak constituency here yesterday.


Based on that struggle, he said Gombak-born children should be given priority to further their studies at the university, adding that this move would also ease the burden faced by the people in the area, especially the B40 group.

The Selangor UMNO liaison committee deputy chairman expressed his willingness to sponsor IIUM students who were born in Gombak to tutor students in the district with poor academic performance so they can excel.

Megat Zulkarnain is being challenged by Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari (Pakatan Harapan-PKR), incumbent Gombak MP Datuk Seri Mohamed Azmin Ali (Perikatan Nasional (PN)-Bersatu), Datuk Dr Aziz Jamaludin Mhd Tahir (Pejuang-Putra) and Zulkifli Ahmad (independent).

Meanwhile, Amirudin said he wanted to focus on education, among other things, because it could change the lives of future generations.

In that regard, the Selangor Menteri Besar said he would like to expand several state-level initiatives related to education to the national level such as the Smart Selangor Technical and Professional Skills Initiative (IKTISASS).


He said this after attending a hi-tea with the residents of Flat Taman Samudra.

IKTISASS, which was announced in 2018, is an initiative of the Selangor government that provides opportunities for millennials to undergo skills training to ensure marketability with high income and enhance the human resource value chain in the country.

-- BERNAMA