KUALA LUMPUR, April 28 — PKR’s candidate for Lembah Pantai, Fahmi Fadzil, has many ideas for the constituency even as he sets out to defend the seat in the wake of the Election Commission’s redelineation exercise.

All eyes are on the seat vacated by Nurul Izzah Anwar — not so coincidentally Fahmi’s former boss as he was her political secretary at one time — who is now contesting Permatang Pauh.

"The issue of the rise in cost of living is a priority among the PPR residents… there is a need to address unemployment and underemployment in the area,” said Fahmi, referring to the low-cost housing residents in Pantai Dalam.

"I would like to review legislation to tap the potential of a sharing economy, especially in an urban setting, such as motorcycle taxis, which can provide the last-mile solution for people living in PPR areas,” he told Malay Mail in an exclusive interview.

Addressing the ban on motorcycle ride-sharing service Dego Ride early last year, Fahmi said the legislation aspect of the motorcycle ride-sharing application needs to be assessed to be utilised in PPR housing areas in terms of safety, security, and at the same time ensuring it would not impact the market for taxis and other ride-sharing services.

"There are many youths in the PPR areas that work as despatch riders. In their spare time, this would be able to fill the gap. There was a lot of pushback on Dego Ride. But in an urban setting, it is worth reviewing,” he said.

Having visited PPR residents door-to-door in Lembah Pantai, the PKR communications chief said the concept of crowdsourcing and crowdfunding would bring a lot of benefits to those who need such platforms.

"In one area, you have Bangsar, which is a generally a well-to-do area. This is how we can connect resources from the area to contribute to those who are in need within the constituency.

"This platform can list particular ailments that one is experiencing, and then people can donate and find out how much has been pledged. Sometimes, the bill may not be high, maybe RM600, sometimes it can go up to RM6,000 or more.

"But Malaysians are a caring people and there are those who would like to contribute and this can be a solution to connect these people,” he said.

While there is a lot of talk about corruption and financial scandals, Fahmi said the people of Lembah Pantai are more concerned over tangible issues and matters such as the rise in cost of living.

"You can talk about 1MDB... but when you have to buy fish, milk, Milo… with the GST and cases where one principal breadwinner is looking after five to six dependents, that is the issue that impacts them the most. Malaysians have a lot of very basic immediate needs that have to be met,” said Fahmi, referring to the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

"There is also a need to preserve our history and heritage in KL. Many have lamented over the loss of the name Kerinchi to Bangsar South, and Abdullah Hukum to KL Eco City. I am not against development, but we have to find a way to either incorporate or commemorate the past.

"For example, the loss of Bukit Bintang Girls’ School to Pavilion... These are important aspects of our history and in order for us to know ourselves and our identity, it is very important to have that part of history very much alive,” he said.

"One of the many things I want to pursue is to gazette the KL City Plan, whether it is 2020, 2030 or whatever the date is… it needs to be reviewed and gazetted. At the same time, we also have to review public housing. Looking at the PPRs of late, the design does not contribute to the idea of community.

"The Persatuan Arkitek Malaysia is located in Bangsar. One of the things I want to do is invite them to call architects together and do a hackathon to reconstruct and reconsider public housing in KL,” said Fahmi.

As part of the PKR Youth, Fahmi said one of the challenges in his constituency is reaching out to young voters and first-time voters, particularly in Pantai Dalam, and to be able to empathise with their struggles.

"Whether in Lembah Pantai or elsewhere, you need younger candidates and understand what the youth are going through. If you look at PKR and DAP, we have a lot of young politicians.

"Pakatan has the right mindset. The policies we have announced address a lot of the concerns among the youth, such as quality of life and a good job. The BN Youth manifesto is well and good but with BN, the problem always comes down to enforcement and execution,” he said.

Aside from the youth, Fahmi is all set to bring about change in KL. "If the budget for KL almost matches, if not slightly less than what Selangor spends, why can't KL provide the level of service or policy Selangor is doing?

"For us, it is about making sure it is needs-based... people who need the most help, whether youth or elderly of any race, if you belong in the group that need assistance, then we must find a way to give it to you,” he said.

Fahmi is set to take on Umno Lembah Pantai division chief Datuk Seri Raja Nong Chik Raja Zainal Abidin and PAS’ Fauzi Abu Bakar in the three-cornered fight.

In the last general election, Nurul Izzah defeated Raja Nong Chik and independent candidate Rusli Baba by 1,847 votes.