TANAH RATA: Local boy Wong Seng Yee made heads turn when he went on stage during the candidates announcement event at the SMK Sultan Ahmad Shah nomination centre here today.
The 40-year-old independent candidate , who was was clad in Phua Chu Kang's famous yellow boots and wore a traditional mengkuang hat, received loud cheers as returning officer Datuk Ishak Md Napis announced his candidacy.
The father-of-four, who will be contesting under a hoe logo, said since he has limited resources, he will choose to campaign from house to house and also utilise the social media.
"I have been operating my farm at Habu here for almost 10 years and know the problems faced by the people especially the farmers. My campaign approach is by meeting them casually(santai) so that they will feel more comfortable to speak out and share their opinions.
"Being an environmental activist, I also have a mission to ensure agriculture activities will be carried out systematically including introducing the highland agriculture policy to safeguard the environment," he said after the nomination process today.
The Master of Horticultural Science holder from University of Nebraska-Lincoln in United States said he choose the hoe for his campaign as the tool was popular among the farming community here.
"The hoe is the main weapon for farmers in the highland here and when voters see the logo, they will immediately realise that it represents me who is also a farmer. I will go around campaigning in my yellow boots and mengkuang hat," he said.
However, when asked on his campaign schedule, Wong said he has yet to setup a Facebook page to inform the media about his movements as he was unsure if his application will be received by the Election Commission.
"Since everything has been completed, I will setup a Facebook page soon and provide daily updates there," he said.
Wong will battle against another independent candidate Sallehudin Ab Talib along with M.Manogaran from Pakatan Harapan and Ramli Mohd Noor from Barisan Nasional in the Jan 26 polls.