Indian voters want more action from Harapan gov't

SEMENYIH POLLS

 | Ahead of tomorrow's by-election in Semenyih, Malaysiakini spoke to Indian voters in the constituency about daily issues they hope the next assemblyperson would address.

Traffic woes, access to healthcare and agricultural opportunities were among issues raised by the community, who make up 14 percent of the state seat's 54,257 constituents with the largest concentrations being in the polling districts of Bandar Rinching and Semenyih Indah City.

"It’s not just traffic congestion, but the safety of road users around Pekan Semenyih is also at stake," local activist T Selvarani told Malaysiakini.

The 55-year-old who lives in Taman Desa Kenanga is a fifth-generation Semenyih resident.

T Selvarani says five generations of her family have lived in Semenyih.

She said the plan to build a new bridge linking Pekan Semenyih and Kampung Bahru Semenyih during assemblyperson Johan Abd Aziz's term is one of the causes of traffic congestion in the area.

"The old bridge was demolished in 2017 to build a new one, but until today, the new bridge is still not ready.

"The big lorries also use Jalan Pekan Semenyih and this is a risk to the safety of road users there," she said, adding that she wants the state and federal governments to resolve the issue immediately.

T Muniandy, a carwash worker from Kampung Bahru Semenyih concurred, saying that the construction of the bridge should be accelerated.

Muniandy also welcomed the suggestion of Pakatan Harapan candidate Muhammad Aiman Zainali to build a hospital in the constituency.

The nearest hospital is the Kajang Hospital, which is about 10km from Pekan Semenyih, which is too far for those who do not have their own transport, Muniandy said.

"I am a diabetic patient who has to wait very long for the bus to Kajang," he said.

Muniandy wants a hospital to be built in Semenyih as the Kajang Hospital is too far away.

There was also a call for the government to create agricultural opportunities in the constituency.

"Semenyih is a semi-urban area, there is still plenty of vacant land that can be given to residents to increase their income," said A Balan, 56, from Bandar Rinching.

He said farming would help to cope with the high cost of living.

"I'm not saying that the government isn't helping us, but cash aid does not reach us. We are always 'robbed' by middle men.

"Instead of giving us a bag of rice, it is better to give us land that we can use for farming purposes," he said.

Concerns about Harapan's 'young' candidate

While expressing his support for Harapan, K Suresh from Sunway Semenyih, raised concerns about the maturity of Aiman, who is 30 years old.

"This is not just my personal opinion, but many of my friends in Semenyih have the same view," the 36-year-old said.

K Suresh is of the opinion that the Harapan candidate's maturity is questionable.

As an example, Suresh cited Aiman's statement while campaigning that he would solve the problems in Semenyih a day after being elected.

Despite this concern, Selvarani, Muniandy and Suresh all said that they would give their backing to the Harapan candidate.

R Saranbabu, 38, a mini-market owner believes that most Indian voters will support Harapan.

"This is because we do not see any reason to reject the candidate, why should we reject him?

"The issue of Semenyih Tamil Schools (SJKT Ladang Semenyih) has been settled. The standard of living has improved drastically compared to the BN era," he said.

R Saranbabu says things have improved drastically post-GE14. 

T Murthy, 50, said that Indian voters in Semenyih would still support Harapan candidates due to their dislike of BN.

"They are quite angry with promises that are not implemented, but I believe they will continue to support Harapan because their hatred of BN is deeper than other issues.

"We understand that the government needs to be given more time. We gave BN 60 years. What’s wrong with giving five years to Harapan?" he said, predicting that more than 70 percent of Indian voters in Semenyih would support Aiman tomorrow. - Mkini

T Murthy believes more than 70 percent of Indians will vote for Harapan tomorrow.