PH’s Dr Ruban seeks to cure Paloh’s ‘serious ailments’

KLUANG: After years of treating patients, Dr A Ruban now hopes to tackle what he describes as the “more serious ailments” afflicting the Paloh state constituency in Johor.

The Pakatan Harapan candidate has identified several pressing issues that require urgent attention, including a lack of job opportunities, youth migration, and sluggish economic development.

Ruban, 42, a Johor DAP committee member, said he is most concerned about the exodus of young people from Paloh to Singapore, Kuala Lumpur and Johor Bahru in search of better employment opportunities.

He said the trend has left many parents and elderly residents living alone as their children have moved away to earn a living.

Although he has yet to be elected as the area’s representative, he said, he has begun engaging private companies to explore expanding their operations into Paloh.

“I’ve spoken to several factories in Batu Pahat about setting up operations in Paloh so that more job opportunities can be created,” he told FMT.

A former government and private hospital doctor, Ruban is well known among local residents through the clinics he has been running in Kluang and Paloh for more than four years.

He has also been actively organising community programmes, including health expos that have received a positive response from residents.

Potential in agro-tourism

Ruban sees significant potential in developing Paloh’s agro-tourism sector, with the area already known for its oil palm plantations and durian orchards.

He believes the Electric Train Service (ETS), which now links Paloh with other towns and cities, can serve as a catalyst for local economic growth.

“We can promote Paloh as an agro-tourism destination and turn it into Johor’s next hidden gem,” he said.

He said he also wants to improve the quality of roads, particularly the Paloh-Kluang and Paloh-Yong Peng routes, to enhance safety for motorists.

Confident of recapturing Paloh

Ruban will challenge incumbent Lee Ting Han of Barisan Nasional in a four-cornered contest that also features Perikatan Nasional’s D Jeevakumar and independent candidate G Kamaleswaren.

He is confident PH can recapture the seat, which it lost in the 2022 state election, on July 11.

He said the defeat was largely due to the Covid-19 pandemic, which prevented many voters, particularly those working in Singapore, from returning home to cast their ballots.

“This time, I sincerely hope voters, especially young people living outside Paloh, will come home to vote and help determine the constituency’s future,” he said.