CAMERON HIGHLANDS, Jan 21 — Pakatan Harapan (PH) may be the ruling coalition, but for many locals here their faith and trust in Barisan Nasional (BN) has never wavered despite the results of GE14.
For them, the BN coalition is a brand they recognise, and one which has looked after their needs for decades.
Restaurant owner Azizah Abdul Aziz, 56, said that BN has been looking after the welfare of the people here for decades.
“It will be wrong if we say BN didn’t do anything in Cameron Highlands. I was born and raised here, I have seen their contribution to the locals.
“BN is concerned about the welfare of the people, especially the elderly and single mothers. They have helped a lot and I have also benefited from it,” she told Malay Mail when met at her shop in Tanah Rata here.
Malay Mail interviewed 10 locals from various parts of Cameron Highlands to gauge the general support BN still has among the people here.
Most of them feel strongly for what BN has done to help them over the years, and insist that a candidate from the now federal opposition coalition will be the best to represent the parliamentary constituency.
Zainina Damai Zainal explained why she still supports BN, saying that the government had built affordable houses for the local via the 1Malaysia Housing Project (PR1MA).
“For the past 10 years, property prices have been increasing in Cameron Highlands. Some properties reached up to RM500,000. Most of the locals could not own a house.
“But, thanks to the BN government, they have built a lot of affordable apartments. The projects were completed last year and people have already moved in,” she said.
Leong Che Kin, 40, a businessman said that BN government had carried out several projects in preventing floods in Cameron Highlands.
“Years ago, we had been encountering floods whenever it rains heavily. But with the rivers now widened in several places, we don’t have the flood problem anymore. And these projects were done by BN,” he said.
“Not only that, but they also helped a lot of poor families. One (incident) that I remember is them fixing the roof of the houses for three poor families in Tringkap,” he added.
Leong said that outsiders would not know what BN has done for the people in Cameron Highlands as they tend to generalise the criticism or rumours they hear about the coalition and its leaders.
Thirty-year-old farmer Selvakanapathy Selvam, 30 said that BN had helped the Indian community here in many ways.
“They provided financial support for Tamil schools here, most of the Indian farmers manage to settle their land issues, and the temples here received help from the BN government,” he said.
Another resident from Brinchang, who only wanted to be named as Muthu said that the Pahang government is still under BN, thus the locals here would prefer a leader from the coalition in the constituency.
“Pahang Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Wan Rosdy Wan Ismail has been very kind to the people here and he had helped a number of farmers to settle the prolonged land issues.
“Of course people here would support BN. They have been looking after the interest of the people and they don’t make fake promises. The ruling government said they would control the living cost, yet prices of food and other products are still increasing,” he said.
Despite PH’s heavy campaigning with their leaders making visits almost every day, the chances of them winning the parliamentary seat are still up in the air.
BN seems to have an edge over the ruling coalition as some of the locals here still trust in the coalition, despite the fact that they have no federal power.
If outstation voters do not return home to vote, this could tip the odds in BN’s favour come January 26.
The Cameron Highlands parliamentary constituency has a total of 32,009 registered voters, with 19,524 voters from the Tanah Rata state constituency while 12,485 is from Jelai state constituency.
Malays make up the majority voters, at about 33.5 per cent followed by ethnic Chinese at 29.48 per cent, Orang Asli at 21.56 per cent, ethnic Indians at 14.91 per cent and others at 0.55 per cent.
