BENTONG – Voters here in the village of Kg Chamang Lama here feel jaded about the 15th general election (GE15) as they recall unkept promises by previous MPs.
Located about 1km away from the town centre here, the village is home to about 600 residents, mostly elderly citizens who were born and raised in the locality.
For village head Lee Wah Heng, 49, the devastating floods in December last year have left him unwilling to believe the words of politicians who promise the world when campaigning, only to disappear when their aid is truly needed.
Lee is unhappy with Bentong incumbent, Wong Tack, whom he said only showed up after most of the flood relief works were well underway.
“We were about 80% done with our flood rescue works, and food aid had already been distributed to the people by the time he came over,” he told The Vibes when met at the village here.
“We couldn’t afford to wait for him. There are a lot of elderly citizens living here without their children, and when water levels began to rise drastically, they needed help immediately,” Lee told The Vibes on a visit to Kg Chamang Lama.
Lee, who became village head in January last year, added that he had used most of the RM500 monthly allowance that came with the job to buy food for residents affected by the floods.
“Most of the help we received came from NGOs (non-governmental organisations). (Wong) was nowhere to be seen during those early days (of the floods),” he said.
Kg Chamang Lama comprises 98% Chinese voters and a handful of Malay and Indian families.
Wong in 2018 sprang a surprise win in Bentong, a mixed-ethnicity seat that had been a MCA-Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold until the last general election when Wong wrested it from then MCA president Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai.
Liow is attempting a comeback in GE15, while Wong, who won on a DAP ticket, is running against the party as an independent candidate.
DAP has picked Young Syefura Othman, the incumbent Ketari assemblywoman who will now be vying for her first federal seat.
Lee, meanwhile, also claimed that Wong had failed to keep his promises for developments in the village, including for a soybean products factory.
“If we can develop our factories here to be on a bigger scale, then there will be more job opportunities provided for our youth, and they will not have to leave their homes to look for income elsewhere.”
Fond memories of MCA’s Liow
MCA’s Liow, who was Bentong MP for four terms since 1999, still stands out in another Kg Chamang Lama resident’s memory.
Liza Wong, 60, said she remembered his contributions to the village, even after losing the 2018 election.
The aquarium store owner said that Liow’s push for authorities to complete reparation works on the Kuala Lumpur-Gua Musang Highway, which connects Bentong to Raub, had been a boon for the community, as the road is back to normal now.
“Before the road closed earlier this year, my son used it every day to go to work.
“But since it has been closed, my son has had to take a long detour, which causes him to spend about an additional half an hour on the road,” she said.
“We reached out to (Wong Tack) but he said that he could not do anything, since he was an opposition MP.”
In September, Liow was reported as saying that he would contact caretaker works minister Datuk Seri Fadillah Yusof on the matter, nearly nine months after the stretch involved had partially collapsed following a landslide caused by floods.
As for DAP’s Young Syefura, villager Yoong Sey Heng said she had been spotted in the area on several occasions, and that most villagers take kindly to her.
“She looks like a people’s representative who will tackle problems hands on.
“The people here like and respect her. We know that she gets work done, so (her promises) are not just lip service,” said Yoong, who runs his own massage parlour in Bentong town.
Young Syefura is not altogether unfamiliar to people here, as she was the Ketari assemblyman, and the state seat is under the Bentong parliamentary constituency.
Yoong said all he wants in GE15 is for candidates to remain true to their word once they are elected, as it is the people who gave them the mandate.
Bentong will be facing a five-cornered battle between Young Syefura, Liow, Wong, Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Roslan Hassan and another independent candidate, Khalil Abdul Hamid. Polling day is on November 19. – The Vibes, November 6, 2022
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