SEMENYIH, Feb 18 — The Socialist Party of Malaysia (PSM) has launched a seven-point manifesto for the Semenyih by-election focusing on public welfare, including more affordable and low-cost homes, better public transportation and better healthcare.

In a press conference today, the party’s candidate Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul told reporters one of the major issues in the state constituency was that housing developers focused more on high-end homes instead of building ones that locals can afford.

“In recent years, there have been 10 new townships in Semenyih but the problem is the glut of expensive houses being sold at absurd prices that no one [here] can afford. Even after two to three years, there are still empty [high-end] homes that no one buys.

“The youth of Semenyih cannot afford to purchase houses priced at RM300,000 to RM600,000 and are forced to rent if they want to continue staying here. This is not favourable to the locals because the developers are focusing on selling to outsiders,” said Nik Aziz.

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Therefore, the socialist party candidate plans to urge the authorities to introduce more stringent conditions before any housing development project is initiated.

Among them is the creation of a quota system for wealthy homes instead of a quota system for the poor.

Nik Aziz also pointed out that the majority of business licences had been snapped up by those not living in the constituency itself, adding that he wanted the authorities to reserve a 30 per cent business licence quota for Semenyih locals per each new development.

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Another issue that plagues the locals is the lack of a local hospital, in light of the fact that Semenyih has a larger population when compared to federal seat Cameron Highlands which recently concluded its own by-election.

“There’s a lot of congestion at the nearby hospitals which are Kajang Hospital, Serdang Hospital and Seremban Hospital. The senior citizens are the ones who suffer the most because many have to take public transportation to get medical care but our bus services here are not punctual either.

“So our plan is to get the local Government Health Clinics here upgraded to a proper hospital and have a centre for ambulances in Semenyih because the ambulances stationed at other hospitals take too long to reach patients in an emergency,” said Nik Aziz.

The manifesto also covers public transport by urging toll concessions to be abolished and providing MRT feeder buses, education by reinstating Form Six education and local council elections.

Nik Aziz will face Pakatan Harapan’s Muhammad Aiman Zainali, Barisan Nasional’s Zakaria Hanafi and independent candidate Kuan Chee Heng on March 2.