KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 8 — Bentong is a relatively small town in western Pahang, right at the border with Selangor.
As with many areas in Malaysia, parts of Bentong are developed with well-known spots such as Genting Highlands, Bukit Tinggi and Janda Baik.
Tourists also make their way to Bentong town on weekends to purchase the famous ginger or try the local food.
Then again there are other areas that are less developed, leading candidates to the upcoming general election promising to bring development.
But it seems the locals there have heard enough of such promises in the past and they are not easily sold on simple pledges alone.
They also seem quite politically literate and easily recognised their candidates while Malaysia’s favourite pastime of "kopitiam” talk revolves around politics.
During lunch in the neighbourhood, I asked an old uncle for his views on the town’s development needs.
He teasingly replied, "We have heard about many development plans but not much has happened.”
Generally, the older people in town complained about the lack of a bigger hospital and no shopping malls.
The younger ones, however, had a more urban mentality and want to see entertainment hubs like cinemas and recreational centres in Bentong.
Nur Nazatul Zuhana Syazmira, 22, said she would usually go to Genting Highlands or come to KL if she wants to catch a movie.
The seat will see a five-cornered fight between Barisan National’s (BN) Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai, Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Young Syefura Othman, Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Datuk Roslan Hassan and two independent candidates — incumbent MP Wong Tack and Mod Khalil Abdul Hamid.
All eyes are mainly on Liow, Wong and Syefura in this clash.
What’s interesting is that the seat was a stronghold for the Malaysian Chinese Association (MCA) for 13 terms.
The BN component party lost the seat in GE14 to DAP’s Wong Tack, who won it under PH.
Liow is no stranger in Bentong.
He served the town for four terms from 1999 until 2018.
In fact, he arrived at the nomination centre on Saturday (Nov 5) with the largest group of supporters when compared with other candidates.
He said his aim of making a comeback is to continue to develop Bentong and build better connectivity by pushing for the East Coast Rail Line project.
Wong, on the other hand, is contesting as an independent to defend his seat.
He is also recognised among the locals and even came close to winning in GE13 but was short of 380 votes to beat Liow.
There is also Young Syefura, who is vying for her first parliamentary seat.
As the name dictates, she is young and aims to bring fresh ideas to the town.
The 32-year-old gained popularity as a politician after winning the Ketari state legislative assembly seat in 2018.
She is fondly called by her nickname Rara among most locals.
There are 87,058 registered voters in Bentong with about 50 per cent of them being below 40 years old.
The voters’ demographic as per the Statistics Department includes Bumiputra 61.9 per cent, Chinese 28.8 per cent and Indians 8.4 per cent.
It will be a tough battle for all candidates, but it looks like whoever addresses the people’s development needs may have an upper hand on November 19.
