Bread-and-butter issues take precedence over everything else for the people of Kerdau near here and they plan to use their vote to change things for the better.
Most of them said they did not care about national issues or events in Putrajaya as they were too preoccupied with their own problems.
Roslan Saman, 25, said he did not doubt that Barisan Nasional would retain the Kerdau seat in the by-election but would not be surprised if its majority was significantly reduced.
Unless the Government is able to convince the people that it would seriously look into their economic and land problems, he said many youths might show their unhappiness through the ballot box.
“The people here do not support the opposition. PAS does not have much of a presence in Kerdau and its surrounding areas.
“But some people may just ‘cross the moon’ as a show of protest,” Roslan said.
Kampung Pasir village head Mandi Baharin Ismail, 55, said the authorities’ failure to grant the people land titles within the vicinity was like a thorn in the flesh for the younger generation.
Shamsul Bahri Abdul Manan, 43, said another contentious issue in the area was water. “We live close to the majestic Pahang river. In fact, the Batu Kawar water treatment plant is less than 10km from our village, yet our taps are dry most of the time. Sometimes, we live without tap water for up to a month,” he said, adding that water supply had just been restored to the village.
Similar grouses were expressed by the Chinese community in the Old Kerdau town centre (picture).
A grocery shop owner who wanted to be known only as Tan wished the area was more developed.
“I have lived here for over 50 years but everything still looks the same,” he said, adding that the younger generation had moved away due to lack of economic opportunities.
He complained that small businesses such as his had no room to expand because it was difficult to apply for a permit.
Ng Chin Choy, 71, concurred, saying the new state assemblyman should do more to improve their standard of living.
“During Chinese New Year, we were without water supply for four days,” he said.
