Teluk Intan Voters Of One Mind About Their Prospective Elected Representative

The 60,349 voters of the Teluk Intan parliamentary constituency comprise people from all walks of life and various occupations, but they all have one thing in common - their desire for a people-friendly MP who understands their grievances and solves their problems.

"We need an MP who can speak up and be of service to the people," said voter Gobi Ramdas, 34, a trader.

When the people have problems to be resolved, an MP must be able to attend to them quickly.

He wants an elected representative who holds a position in the state or federal government so as to be able to act on their problems with ease.

"It is difficult to seek help to solve a localised problem. We also need a minister or deputy minister (as the elected representative) because it has been several years since Teluk Intan had an MP who also held a government position," he said.

Tan Meng Wah, 53, a member of an NGO, said he did not want an elected representative who was only good at making empty promises and did not come down to the ground to find out the people's problems.

"We do not mind who the representative is, so long as he or she can work for the constituents regardless of race. We want an elected representative who can raise issues in Parliament," he said.

Housewife Fatimah Sahat, 65, said she hopes that the new MP would bring about a change in terms of development and infrastructure facilities for the benefit of the constituents.

"I hope the MP will be one who can work for the people. The previous MP from the opposition was unable to help.

"We will not be taken in by the empty promises of the opposition which only comes down to the ground during elections. The opposition has never resolved the people's problems, often giving the excuse that they are not the ruling government," she said.

Trader Nur Haneem Baharuddin, 30, said she hopes that the electoral candidates would be those who are people-friendly and who can work, and not just talk.

The candidates must have a development plan for Teluk Intan and should not be just good at passing criticism, she said.

The Teluk Intan parliamentary constituency encompasses the town of Teluk Intan, nearby plantations and rice fields as well as traditional villages in the Hilir Perak district, a developing area.

Forty-five per cent of the electorate make up the business community; 35 per cent, public and private sector employees and 15 per cent, the farming community.

A by-election is being held on May 31 following the death of the MP, Seah Leong Peng, 48, of the DAP, of cancer on May 1.

He was a three-term state assemblyman from 1999 for Pasir Bedamar, which is located within the Teluk Intan parliamentary constituency.

In the 13th general election last year, Seah defeated Datuk Mah Siew Keong of the Barisan Nasional (BN) and independent candidate K. Moralingam by a majority of 7,313 votes.

Of the 60,349 voters, the Chinese make up 25,310 (41.94 per cent); Malays, 23,301 (38.61 per cent); Indians, 11,468 (19 per cent) and others, the rest. The constituency has more women voters than men, 31,049 (51.45 per cent) to 29,300 (48.55 per cent).

The biggest number of voters are in the 30-39 age group, comprising 12,365 (20.49 per cent); followed by the 50-59 age group, 12,242 (20.29 per cent) and 40-49 age group, 11,446 (18.97 per cent).

The Election Commission has fixed nomination for May 19 and polling for May 31.

The Teluk Intan by-election is the sixth in just over a year after the 13th general election. The five before it are Kuala Besut state in Terengganu (July 24, 2013), Sungai Limau state in Kedah (Nov 4, 2013), Kajang state in Selangor (March 23, 2014), Balingian state in Sarawak (March 29, 2014) and Bukit Gelugor parliamentary in Penang (May 25, 2014).