Winds of change in Perak

Locals from all race and ethnicity see a serious need for change due to lack of care from the previous government.

PETALING JAYA: The winds of change is sweeping across the Silver State as Perakians appear determined to usher in change in the 13th GE.

An ex-armed forces personnel, who declined to be named, said that the current state government had done nothing for the people, even for those who had gone to war for their country.

“They we’re never bothered about us. They give monetary bonuses to those currently in the army but what about us?” he asked.

“We have received the same amount of pension ever since, we are forgotten warriors of the land,” he added.

The 59-year-old retiree from Gerik vowed to vote for the oppsition this time around to see what they have to offer for the ex-army personnel.

Another group of Chinese locals in their mid 40s mocked the government for ignoring the people’s woes.

“We have roads here that were built by the locals themselves. These roads have been the same for the last 60 years since our fathers’ days when these houses were built here.

“We forked out our own money to fix it. Even this Chinese temple that we are in right now was built from funds that came out of our own pockets,” said one of them.

They also claimed that their houses were freehold lots but in the end when they received the necessary documents, it stated that they were all leasehold properties.

“We were foxed into believing that we were buying freehold property, we only realised they were leasehold after we payed the money,” said one of them.

The winds of change was also felt in Kuala Kangsar and Pasir Salak where the majority of local voters are hoping for an opposition win.

Even the independent candidate for the Bukit Chandan state seat in Kuala Kangsar believes that the opposition has a stronger chance.

Jahiddin Isa, 54, said the PAS candidate for the Kuala Kangsar parliamentary seat Khalil Idham stands a better chance than BN’s Wan Mohamad Khair-il.

“Many locals have realised what they have been deprived of all these years,” he said.

Kamilia will put a strong fight

However, he pointed out that the former Umno women’s wing deputy chief Kamilia Ibrahim, who is campaigning with him, will not lose without a fight. Kamilia is standing as an independent for the parliamentary seat.

“She is a strong woman, she’s my mentor. I have a lot of confidence in her and we believe that we can work together and gain the people’s trust. We will put up a fight for sure,” he said.

“We share common goals. We want to help the poor and single mothers here. We also want to remove cronyism, that is the main reason for corruption,” he added.

Locals in Pasir Salak claim that the caretaker Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir has been redundant since he took the position.

“Its like we don’t have a menteri besar here, he is non-existent. He has not done any ground work to benefit the locals and hardly even gets in touch with us.

“We want to see a change. We are not sure if Pakatan Rakyat will keep their promises, but its worth a try. We have been deprived for more than 50 years, another 5 years wouldn’t hurt,” said one of them.

Perak has 24 parliamentary seats and 59 state seats up for grabs.

The previous election saw Perak fall into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat but BN came back to power after several Pakatan MPs declared themselves independent.