JOHOR BARU, Nov 10 — Johan Arifin Mohd Ropi, who is representing Barisan Nasional (BN) to contest the Johor Baru parliamentary seat in the 15th general election, believes there is a fundamental ingredient that needs to be addressed if the southern city is to prosper for a long time..
To the architect, it is not adding more steel, glass, or concrete to rival the gleaming Lion City across the Causeway. The answer lies in racial integration.
“I believe that only by working together can we continue to bring our beloved city to greater heights,” he told reporters after meeting the city’s ethnic Chinese community leaders at the Cathay Restaurant Vantage Bay in Stulang Laut here last night.
He was accompanied by veteran Umno politician Tan Sri Shahrir Samad, who was a former long-standing Johor Baru MP before the watershed 14th general election in 2018.
He said that even in the past, the close cooperation among the many races in Johor Baru has always been the foundation for the city’s success.
“With that, I humbly appeal for everyone's cooperation on this in order to maintain racial integration,” he added.
Better known as Johan Ropi to friends, he has been active in running youth programmes in Johor Baru city.
The 42-year-old who is also a Johor Baru Umno division committee member said he still needs to learn more about the various cultural backgrounds in the city here as there is more than what the naked eye can see.
With that, he added that one can only truly trust one another which is the most important key to building Johor Baru.
For starters, he plans to promote racial integration through programmes in schools.
He explained that the programme is not a school competition, but rather based on sports and academics activities that will include representatives from different races from each participating school as a team.
“Take for example, the Bandar Baru Uda area, where we have SJKC Foon Yew 4, SK Bandar Uda 2, SK Kompleks Uda, and Sekolah Tasek Utara. These schools are operating on their own without any effort at integration.
“So, if we can create a programme such as this, I believe that we can have a shot at a better future for Johor Baru,” he said, adding that such an effort to nurture friendship based on racial integration at a young age. But that’s not all Johan Arifin has planned to make Johor Baru great again.
He believes that a thriving city should have more micromobility solutions to enable people to move about safely, without incurring higher costs.
“This can possibly be done, because once we have the Rail Transit System in place, people will still need a form of affordable transport to their end destination.
“So, if we can have more micromobility options in the city, not only can we reduce the daily expenses, but we can also generate the domestic economy better,” he said.
Micromobility refers to a range of small, lightweight urban-friendly vehicles operating at low speeds and driven personally by users.
Micromobility devices include bicycles, e-bikes, electric scooters, electric skateboards, shared bicycle fleets, and electric pedal assisted bicycles.
Johan Arifin is challenging Johor Baru incumbent Akmal Nasrullah Nasir from Pakatan Harapan. But he will also have to fend off Perikatan Nasional’s Mohd Mohtaj Yacob and Mohd Akhiri Mahmood from Gerakan Tanah Air, who is contesting under the Pejuang logo.
