BENTONG – The nation’s political landscape will be irrevocably altered if the Bentong federal seat sees its first independent parliamentarian in the upcoming general election (GE15), said the constituency’s incumbent MP Wong Tack.
Stressing that the win would signify the “people’s power” to elect representatives of their choice, Wong, who had previously won the seat under Pakatan Harapan (PH), seemed confident about securing victory again as an independent.
“An independent candidate winning the Bentong (parliamentary seat) will rock the nation. It will be a game-changer for Malaysian politics,” he told The Vibes when met during a walkabout in the town here yesterday.
“(The win) will send a clear message to the people in power or whoever forms the government (that) they had better listen to us (the people).
“They will know not to play around with the people’s power.”
Wong had previously secured the Bentong federal seat on a DAP ticket during the 2018 general election. The party has opted to drop him for Young Syefura Othman for GE15.
His win in 2018 ended MCA’s Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai’s four-term hold over the seat.
Liow has joined the fight for the constituency and is vying to reclaim his seat in GE15.
Wong Tack, an environmental activist, added that he had opted to remain in the running for the Bentong seat at the price of losing his DAP membership because he is emotionally attached to the district, which is his hometown.
“My team of volunteers and I have worked very hard in Bentong to serve the people here. To me, the people want us to continue serving them here and we will try our best to fulfil their needs,” he said.
Questioned about claims by village residents here lamenting his ostensible disappearance during the devastating floods last year, Wong asserted that he had focused his attention towards the people in more rural areas.
Additionally, he also conveyed a message of solidarity with Chua Tian Chang – better known as Tian Chua – his fellow erstwhile PH member from PKR who is now also contesting as an independent candidate in Batu after the party sided with the seat’s incumbent P. Prabakaran.
“Always have the people at heart. If you (only focus on) politics then you will be alone, but if you are with the people then you will have thousands (of supporters) with you,” said Wong Tack.
The Bentong parliamentary constituency is seeing a five-cornered fight between Wong, Young Syefura, Liow, Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Roslan Hassan, and independent Mohd Khalil Abdul Hamid.
Malaysia will vote in a new government on November 19, with early voting set for November 15. – The Vibes, November 8, 2022
