JOHOR BAHARU, April 23 – The tussle for Gelang Patah parliamentary seat between Johor Barisan Nasional (BN) chairman Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman and DAP supremo Lim Kit Sing may have been deemed the ‘clash of the titans’, but to the multi-racial voters in the constituency, it is a non-issue.
What matters to them most is which one of the two candidates who can truly ensure their wellbeing and the rapid development taking place in the constituency, especially in Iskandar Malaysia, will persist without a glitch. For a restaurant operator in Lima Kedai, Hussein Abdul Kadir, 63, who has been living in Gelang Patah since 1970s, BN had done a good job in developing the constituency and providing job opportunities to the people.
The development brought by the BN has also changed the landscape of Gelang Patah and enabled him to earn more income to support his family, he said. As such, he said the former Johor menteri besar who was named as BN candidate for Gelang Patah was the best person to be elected.
“Abdul Ghani can be described as the architect responsible for taking the development of Gelang Patah this far,” he said.
On Kit Siang, Hussein said the DAP supremo was not a good elected representative as he had failed to serve his voters in Ipoh Timur even though they had given him the mandate to hold the seat for two terms.
“He (Kit Siang) failed to serve the people in Ipoh Timur. I’m afraid the rapid development currently taking place in Gelang Patah will be ceased if the residents voted for DAP,” he said.
Another resident, who only wanted to be known as ‘Chong’, said he preferred to have political stability to ensure that he could continue operating his mobile phone sales and repair business without much problems.
“I’m a fence sitter. I just want to live in peace. If people fight, I cannot run my business and earn a living,” he said.
As such, Chong, who will cast his vote in general election for the third time on May 5, said he would definitely give his vote to the party that could ensure political stability. Gelang Patah has two state seats, namely Skudai, which will see a tussle between incumbent Dr Boo Cheng Hau of DAP and MCA veteran Liang Ah Chy, and Nusajaya, which will see a straight fight between BN candidate Dr Zaini Abu Bakar and PAS vice president Salahuddin Ayub.
Salahuddin will also contest for Pulai parliamentary seat as part of the opposition efforts to create a political tsunami in the state deemed the strongest fortress of BN and Umno.
BERNAMA
