Muda sec-gen wants north-south Johor development gap closed

PETALING JAYA: Muda secretary-general Ainie Haziqah Shafii, who is contesting the Simpang Jeram seat, wants to see the same level of development in northern and southern Johor.

Ainie said many young Johoreans still see Johor Bahru or Singapore as their best option for higher incomes.

The 36-year-old said Johor’s economic development should not be concentrated in the south but spread more evenly to include northern areas such as Muar, Tangkak, Segamat and Batu Pahat.

She said that while the state government has introduced initiatives to create jobs across Johor, many people still move to Singapore or Johor Bahru for better pay.

“The state government must assess whether its job policies and programmes are reaching the grassroots, especially in areas outside the main development focus.

“Do we want to normalise the idea that Johoreans must go to Singapore to earn a decent income?” she told FMT.

Ainie, formerly of PKR and later Bersatu, said this was among the main concerns raised by Simpang Jeram constituents, along with housing, the cost of living and local business opportunities.

“Simpang Jeram and the wider Muar area have strong development potential, but they need an assemblyman who can truly champion their needs consistently,” she said.

“As a mother of three, I understand the pressures families face and the need for their concerns to be represented in the legislature,” she said.

Ainie is in a four-cornered contest for the Simpang Jeram seat against Amanah’s Nazri Abdul Rahman, Umno’s Azman Ismail and PAS’s Arshed Yahya.

The late Salahuddin Ayub of Amanah won the seat in the 2022 state polls. Nazri later retained it for Pakatan Harapan in a 2023 by-election following Salahuddin’s death.

Simpang Jeram is under the Bakri federal constituency, which has been held by DAP since 2008.

Ainie previously led PKR’s young women’s wing before leaving the party in 2020 to join Bersatu, where she served in a similar wing. She joined Muda in early 2022, shortly after the party was registered.