BUKIT MERTAJAM: PKR’s decision to shift Datuk Seri Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail to Pandan in the 14th General Election (GE14) is no great loss for Permatang Pauh’s voters.
In fact, they are more than happy to let the PKR president go after she failed to look after their well-being and bring developments to the area in the past two decades.
What worries them, however, is PKR’s decision to field Dr Wan Azizah’s daughter Nurul Izzah Anwar in her place.
Voters lamented that from the father to the mother and now the daughter, they had been forced to live at the expense of the family.
Checks by NSTP in Kubang Semang here today showed that many of the voters were beginning to feel disgusted with their MP, who rather champion national issues instead of the well-being of the people in the area.
Shaharin Sabudin, 39, said as a leader mandated by the people, Dr Wan Azizah should have prioritised the people of Permatang Pauh.
“We are confronted with a host of issues but we do not know who to turn to for help. To compound matters, we hardly see our MP around.
“From traffic issues to narrow roads, lack of street lights and flash floods, all these remain unsolved because our leader is busy with national issues and abandons the people here,” he said when met today.
Shaharin, who is staying in Kampung Guar Jering here, said they continued to wait for major changes to happen but to no avail.
“What changes are the leader... from the father to the mother and now the daughter.
“I am sure there will not be any changes and the people will continue to be abandoned,” he said.
For Arifin Ismail, 58, who stays in Permatang Pasir, the lackadaisical attitude of their elected representative resulted in uncertainties over solutions to their problems.
“I am aware that every MP has a special allocation for his/her respective area but I do not know how the money is used because I do not see any changes here.
“We have time and again raised our concerns on bread and butter issues but I seldom see the MP coming down to the ground to help find solutions,” he said.
For Pak Abu, 63, as he prefers to be known, the people of Permatang Pauh must evaluate for themselves who is the best MP to bring about changes in the area.
“This is a time for change and the people must realise that their previous MP is not bothered about the people at all,” he added.
Barisan Nasional’s candidate for Permatang Pauh, Datuk Mohd Zaidi Mohd Said, said the coalition and Umno had implemented a comprehensive ground work to bring changes and development to the area compared to the incumbent MP.
The Umno Permatang Pauh division chief said they had worked for the people in the last five years.
“What is important is that we are accepted by them. We have never stopped working for them. In fact, right after the 13th general election, we have started work for the coming election and have managed to improve on any shortcomings and our weaknesses in the past,” he added.