Ask not what Subang Jaya can do for you – ask what you can do for Subang Jaya

Last weekend we had a massive gotong-royong at the flats in SS13. This area is one of the older areas in Subang Jaya.

This gotong-royong was organised by my office after I received complaints from the residents there. The residents said that since moving there for the last 20 years, they have never been visited by their ADUN or MP until now.

This gotong-royong would not have been successful without the effort of a few parties. The residents themselves came out to assist in the cleaning. I was most impressed by the willingness of the Latter Rain church who sent at least 50 of their members to be the hands and legs for this gotong-royong. MPSJ also sent their trucks and manpower. Konsortium SJ Pest Control offered their free service for that day in solving the rats problem.

I saw a young girl aged 8 sweeping the compound of the flats together with her dad. Children of different races came out to work together. The volunteers do not live in this area but they took time out to assist others. They care for their neighbours’ backyard as much as they do for their own. This attitude is what we need to move the community forward.

I have heard this statement from a number of people I met “Are you Hannah Yeoh? I voted for you and now I’m watching what you can do for me!”. This statement irks me the most. Notice the word used is watching. This group of people only sit back and watch while others work. I have seen this in some residents’ meeting. The committee members worked hard while some others sat back to watch and complain.

The volunteers for the gotong-royong came to my office asking “What can we do to help you and the community?”. They didn’t just sit back and watch the progress of the nation after the March 8 election. This group of people understand that their votes were not for Hannah Yeoh but for their own future.

As a young person, I did not just sit and complain of the previous government, I decided to do something about it and today I am serving the people, carrying the weight of rebuilding and reforming the community. Malaysia needs proactive watchmen to ensure good governance and not watchmen who merely sit back and complain. We will accomplish more if everyone works together.