Semenyih folk hope by-election winner will help raise their quality of life

Popular snack: Muhammad Aiman choosing some yu tiao during the walkabout at the Beranang morning market.

SEMENYIH: Temperatures are rising in Semenyih and it’s not only because of the hot weather.

The quiet town, which is home to the hikers’ paradise of Bukit Broga and the Malaysian campus of the University of Nottingham, is being contested by no less than four people in a by-election on March 2.

The four aspiring assemblymen are from Barisan Nasional, Pakatan Harapan, PSM and independent candidate Kuan Chee Heng.

The by-election was called after Semenyih Pakatan assemblyman Bakhtiar Mohd Nor died on Jan 11.

For now, it is difficult to predict whether Pakatan can hold on to the state seat, which was previously a Barisan stronghold before the 14th General Election.

But the people here want their representative to ensure that they can live more comfortable lives.

A villager, who only wanted to be known as Zalimin, said Semenyih would benefit from staying with a pro-government candidate.

“I believe we should be running on the same course as the current government. Things tend to move smoothly when everyone is in agreement,” said the 57-year-old from Kampung Pasir Baru.

Although he admitted to being in Pakatan’s corner, he did not see anything wrong with other contenders, particularly underdogs like PSM and Kuan, who is also known as Uncle Kentang.

While he felt that their intentions were good, he questioned their cap­ability to look after Semenyih, which has 54,503 voters.

“I feel that PSM is a small party and cannot do much. I’ve heard of Uncle Kentang’s charity work, but I’m afraid that his charitable nature could be swayed when he enters politics,” said Zalimin.

He added that politics has a tendency to change people and was worried that Uncle Kentang would not be strong enough to resist.

For others, a young candidate could be the right person to bring Semenyih forward.

A media practitioner, who only wanted to be known as Amu, admitted that she did not know anything about young candidates like Pak­atan’s Muhammad Aiman Zainali, though she believed he was the right person for the job.

“Young people tend to have newer ideas,” she said.

Amu also had doubts on whether the underdogs could win with their lack of resources.

“We know and respect people like Uncle Kentang, but I think it is safer to place our votes on people who have the means to help solve our problems,” she said.

Some of the problems people want solved in Semenyih include the rising cost of living, poor roads and water supply disruptions.

Choices aplenty: Nik Aziz checking out a food stall at the morning market.

Residents at the Baiduri flats near Bandar Tasek Kesuma are among those who have to face such issues.

Housewife Sarifah, 47, said she was annoyed that she still had to pay her water bills despite facing regular water disruptions.

“Sometimes we don’t get water, but have to pay more for our water supply.

“For the past 19 years, we only paid water bills of a few ringgit. Now we have to foot a monthly bill of RM30 to RM40,” she added.

Meanwhile, 24-year-old student Nasri Sharif is feeling the pinch from increased prices of goods such as food, cooking oil and meat.

He is also not happy with the bumpy rides, whether on the bus or his motorcycle, due to the many potholes on the road.

A 35-year-old stall owner named Addy said he had yet to see changes in his area after Pakatan won GE14.

The father of three was not happy with some newer regulations such as the smoking ban in eateries.

However, he said it was good that there was a change in government as it showed the rakyat that their votes mattered.

“It is healthy politics. The previous government now know that they are dependent on the rakyat.

“It is the people who can bring them up or down, so now there is a (healthy) fear of the people,” he added.

Muhammad Aiman and Uncle Kentang will face Barisan’s Zakaria Hanafi, a 56-year-old former administrative assistant and PSM’s Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul, a 25-year-old entrepreneur.

Polling is set for March 2 with early voting on Feb 26.- Star