Polling is going on in Semenyih today (2 March 2019) to elect either Aiman Zainali of Pribumi/PH, Zakaria Hanafi of UMNO/BN, Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul of Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) or independent candidate Kuan Chee Heng to fill the Selangor state seat of Semenyih, which fell vacant, following the death of its assemblyman Bakhtiar Mohd Nor on 11 January 2019 from a heart attack. Bakhtiar was from the Pribumi party, a partner in the Pakatan Harapan (PH) pact which governs Selangor state right now.
There has been much speculation in the media as to whether Aiman will hold the that the seat for Pribumi/PH or whether it will fall to one of the other candidates due to voter dissatisfaction over unfulfilled promises or reversals of promises made by the Pakatan Harapan parties in the run up to Malaysia's 14th general elections (GE14) on 9 May 2018., as well as other issues such as public frustration over still high cost of living, the sluggish economy, unemployment, contentious issues related to ethnicity and religion and so forth, which have cropped up during the nearly 10 months of Pakatan Harapan federal government rule. It's also nearly 10 months into Pakatan Harapan's third consecutive term as the Selangor state government, since the pact captured Selangor state from the Barisan Nasional in the 8th March 2008 general elections (GE12), almost 11 years ago.
Despite similar public unhappiness over cost of living, economic and other 'bread and butter issues, as well as concerns over high-profile national issues such as 1MDB, corruption and so forth which drove some voters towards Pakata Harapan, a major factor which helped tip the scales towards Pakatan Harapan winning the federal government in GE14 was the inclusion of the Pribumi party into the Pakatan Harapan pact. Pribumi was formed by Tun Dr. Mahathir, then a former UMNO/Barisan Nasional prime minister who had resigned from UMNO before GE14, and other key UMNO/Barisan Nasional ministers and politicians who had either left the party or hand been expelled.
By Pribumi joining Pakatan Harapan, their loyalists followed and voted Pakatan Harapan, when they previously had voted for Barisan Nasional and I believe that this shift helped tip the scales in favour of Pakatan Harapan, especially in marginal rural, semi-rural and lower-income urban constituencies, which Pakatan Harapan without Pribumi ( or earlier Pakatan Rakyat minus PAS) had difficulty penetrating.
So now on the one hand, Aiman is expected to hold Semenyih for Pribumi, the incumbent party and also because Pakatan Harapan controls Selangor state with a huge majority and also controls Malaysia's federal government. After all, more pragmatic voters will tend to vote for a representative who has the biggest influence within the state assembly or parliament and is best placed to deliver on his or her election promises.
On the other hand, based upon the big swing of votes towards UMNO/Barisan Nasional in the earlier by-election for the Cameron Highlands federal (parliamentary) seat, others believe that Zakaria Hanafi of UMNO/Barisan Nasional has a good chance of capturing Semenyih back for UMNO/Barisan Nasional due to a shift in voter sentiment as well as him receiving the votes of PAS voters, since PAS (Pan-Malaysian Islamic Party) is not contesting to help UMNO/Barisan Nasional win.
However, even if Zakaria is elected, he will still be one amongst five Barisan Nasional assemblymen or six including the lone PAS assemblyman versus 50 Pakatan Harapan assemblymen and assemblywomen in the 56 seat Selangor state assembly, so he will very likely have a hard time getting the majority to grant what he wants for the people of Semenyih.
For the same reason, it looks like Nik Aziz Afig of Parti Sosialis Malaysia has a slim chance of being elected, despite the promises made in his personal manifesto to demand public facilities and other benefits for the people of Semenyih and despite his over two years of having an active presence as a PSM member on the ground in Semenyih.
If somehow Nik Azz Afiq wins due to voters unhappiness with Pakatan Harapan, yet cannot bring themselves to vote for UMNO/Barisan Nasional, so they instead vote for him; Nik Aziz Afiq will not only be the lone PSM state assemblyman in the Selangor state assembly but will be the only PSM state assemblyman in all of Malaysia and even the only PSM elected representative in Malaysia at state and parliamentary levels.
However, whilst PSM is not part of the Pakatan Harapan pact, however it generally maintains a cordial relationship with Pakatan and PSM's candidates had run for election at state and parliamentary levels under the banner of Pakatan Harapan parties such as DAP and PKR in past parliamentary and state elections,so if elected, Nik Aziz Afiq could likely have more influence within the largely Pakatan Harapan dominated Selangor state assembly.
As for local Semenyih philanthropist Kuan Chee Heng running as an independent, unfortunately for the very same reason tat they will have little say in state assemblies or parliament, independents very rarely win seats not only in Malaysia or worldwide, unless there are exceptional levels of discontent or voters vote them in for some very unusual reason, mostly sentimental, such as them being a beauty queen, soccer superstar, movie star or something like that, though I am not aware of candidates being voted in for such reasons, unless Pakistan's prime minister Imran Khan, a former cricket captain, is one such person, though is is chairman of Pakistan Tehreek-e-Insaf (PTI), a centrist political party in Pakistan which he founded 1996, so Imran Khan is not an independent but a party politician.
However, it would be a real surprise if Kuan Chee Heng wins and all the best to him if he does.
Now, this morning, as the Semenyih by-election got underway, the Malay Mail came out with an article, "Traffic woes at the core of how Semenyih will vote", which highlights local frustrations in Semenyih over traffic congestion, over building, rising property prices and so forth in Semenyih. This article highlights statements by the PSM in Semenyih and the views of certain Semenyih voters, mostly about problems on the ground there.
Whilst major roads and highways usually come under federal government jurisdiction, land matters, including building permits all come under state government jurisdiction and it appears that most media narrative and public discourse misses the point that whilst Pakatan Harapan has been in control of the federal government for less than 10 months, however it has been in charge of the Selangor state governnment for almost 11 years, during which time the state government still allowed or did not do enough to regulate the spread of such construction of high-rise condos and sprawling housing estates.
As a resident of Petaling Jaya and a registered voter here, I can sympathise with the people of Semenyih, since I and my fellow residents of ny neighbourhood have similar issues with high-rise, high-density developments which have been sprouting up in our part of Petaling Jaya, the potholed and uneven roads, drains in which water does not flow smoothly (and Selangor has rising cases of dengue) both before and under successive Pakatan Harapan governments of Selangor state since March 2008 and with the our local authority, the Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ). Following Pakatan Harapan's predecessor Pakatan Rakyat capturing Selangor and Penang states in March 2008, I had expected to see the state governments of these two states curtail the construction frenzy and implement more people-friendly developments and facilities but after 11 years, they mostly have allowed business as usual to continue, with further construction in the hills of Penang island, environmental degradation, soli erosion, landslides which have killed people, flash floods, housing prices beyond the reach of most Malaysians and so forth in Penang, plus continued overbuilding in Selangor, including of "Transit Oriented Development" with high plot rations of up to 8:1 near LRT and MRT stations in Petaling Jaya and in the Klang Valley.
Coupled with those local issues are the U-turns in election promises made by Pakatan Harapan before it got elected and unfulfilled promises with little visible effort towards fulfilling them, little visible effort by the Pakatan Harapan federal government to get to the bottom of the mysterious disappearance of individuals such as Pastor Koh, Hilmy, the death of Teo Beng Hock and so forth. It's curious than only in the run up to the Semenyih by-election that the Pakatan Harapan government has entered into negotiations with Gamuda to buy back four highways in the Klang Valley, none of them relevant to Semenyih, and "replace" tolls on them with a peak period "congestion charge" between 7am and 11pm, which is 30% lower than existing tolls and toll-free travel during off-peak periods between 11pm and 7am.
Whilst, a 30% lower "congestion charge" is welcome, however the joke going round is that only pub patrons, teh tarik shop patrons and other night owls will get to enjoy toll-free travel. on these roads connecting suburbs within the Klang Valley.
It surprise even me that I and some of my friends who are generally pro-Pakatan Harapan or strongly anti-Barisan Nasional, have said that they would like to see the Pakatan Harapan candidate lose in Semenyih, hopefully to shock the Pakatan Harapan government to make more effort towards fulfilling its election promises and to address the concerns of us the small people, instead of all the finger-pointing and political manoeuvring going on between political leaders at the top.
The Malay Mail article referred to follows below:-
Traffic woes at the core of how Semenyih will vote
Published 3 hours ago on 02 March 2019
By Kenneth Tee and R. Loheswar
SEMENYIH, March 2 ― As with developing satellite towns throughout the country, Semenyih suffers from regular traffic congestion.
The issue is exacerbated by rapid development, particularly in the residential sector.
With only two highways (LEKAS ― Lebuhraya Kajang Seremban and Kajang SILK ― Kajang Dispersal Link Expressway) linking the township to the capital, the main thoroughfare of Jalan Semenyih is near peak capacity from the thousands of vehicles that use it daily.
For candidates of the by-election here, how they address this matter could determine how Semenyih treats them today.
As the ruling state and federal governments, Pakatan Harapan (PH) is seen as best poised to resolve this.
"There are too many residential development in the area. Yes, it is true Semenyih is developed but its existing infrastructures like roads and public transportation are not.
"The traffic congestion is made worse with visitors from outside Semenyih heading into the town to access Broga's hiking trail and those avoiding the highway tolls to head towards Seremban," 48-year-old Grab driver M. Parthiban told Malay Mail.
High-density residential projects such as L'MARQ Residence near Bandar Rinching and The Residence 1 @ Tiara East near Broga have mushroomed throughout Semenyih in recent times, contributing to road delays locals suffer as more people begin to settle in.
The largest and most prominent landed mixed housing projects are the 1,089-acre Eco Majestic and the 753-acre Setia Ecohill township that locals claimed to be "unprecedented development" for Semenyih.
Private sector worker Mohd Kassim Abdullah, who commutes from Semenyih and Kuala Lumpur, said one could spend 40 minutes just navigating through traffic here during peak hours.
"Its worst when any of the numerous intersection traffic lights along Jalan Semenyih malfunctions or when school ends. Traffic will definitely come to a standstill," the local-born from Bandar Rinching said.
Parti Sosialis Malaysia election director S. Arutchelvan pointed out that there were plans to build a flyover near the Semenyih market that will bypass Jalan Semenyih and linked with Jalan Broga for the past eight years, but this has not materialised.
"Semenyih was initially a rural town and some of these luxurious and upscale high-rise developments only began in recent years.
"What it is doing instead is raise housing prices and they are not helping with the traffic either," he said.
Tracing Jalan Semenyih's historical background
The 25km-long Jalan Semenyih ― also part of Federal Route 1 ― is one of the oldest federal roads in Malaysia. These had formed the backbone of the road network in the west of the peninsula before being supplanted by the North–South Expressway (PLUS) in 1994.
The road (which varies from two to four in different parts) splits the Semenyih township in half and serves the nearly 54,000 local residents with a single access route to either Seremban, Kajang or KL.
Jalan Semenyih, at present, stretches from the Kajang police headquarters in Kajang all the way until the township of Mantin in Negri Sembilan.
Some of the most congested areas observed are the traffic light intersections between Jalan Broga (Broga Hill and University of Nottingham Campus) and Jalan Sungai Lanang (Nirvana Memorial Park).
Toll abolition not 'beneficial' to traffic woes
On February 23, PH announced the planned takeover of the Lebuhraya Damansara Puchong (LDP), Sistem Penyuraian Trafik KL Barat (SPRINT), Lebuhraya Shah Alam (KESAS) and SMART Tunnel.
On these, tolls will be replaced with a "congestion charge" 30 per cent cheaper than current rates between 5am and 11pm. From 11pm to 5am, they will be free to use.
While this came ahead of the Semenyih poll, locals said they do not see how this would be directly beneficial.
"If you ask me, the recent announcement on the toll abolition does not affect Semenyih people as the four highways mentioned is not near (Semenyih) at all," Persatuan Teksi Semenyih secretary Bharathi Dasan. 67, told Malay Mail.
Parthiban instead suggested that an alternative road be built for Semenyih's city-bound commuters after pointing out a proposal had been brought up in the early 2000s.
"The alternative route connects Bandar Rinching to Taman Pelangi Semenyih until Kampung Pasir and Kajang SILK, effectively bypassing Jalan Semenyih," he said.
While PH said the four highways were the beginning of its pledge to eventually abolish tolls in Malaysia, some in Semenyih said it instead reminded them that the coalition previously reneged on its election pledge.
In PH's election manifesto under Promise 6, it had promised to abolish toll collection gradually after it has conducted a thorough study all highway concession agreements prior to a takeover.
After winning the general election, PH told Malaysians it could not afford to do so due to the compensation involved.
Sedar vice-president Michelle Foo said there was an undercurrent of unhappiness over undelivered election pledges.
Every cloud has a silver lining
For PSM candidate Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul, public transportation remained the top priority and PSM would lobby to get the free Selangor SMART Bus service into Semenyih.
"I also planned to meet with MRT Corp to get more feeder bus to Semenyih and reintroduce feeder bus route between Kajang and Seremban," he said when contacted.
PH's Muhammad Aiman Zainali is also banking on a similar solution for the existing traffic gridlock, promising to improve the frequency of the Selangor SMART Bus service as well as upgrading existing taxi terminals following the announcement of his election manifesto.
Dubbed 'Connected Semenyih' in his Aiman4Semenyih agenda, Muhammad Aiman has pledged to begin implementing his personal manifesto as soon as possible, should he win the by-election.
Semenyih will vote tomorrow in the by-election triggered by the death of the PH incumbent, Bakhtiar Mohd Nor, on January 11.
Click on the link below to read the above article with the many pictures.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/03/02/traffic-woes-at-the-core-of-how-semenyih-will-vote/1728329
Meanwhile the Malay Mail reports that turnout was at 44% as of 12 noon.
https://www.malaymail.com/news/malaysia/2019/03/02/ec-semenyih-turnout-at-44pc-as-of-12pm/1728411
Free Malaysia Today reports that electoral watchdog NGO Bersih 2.0 alleged that Paktan Harapan's Aiman Zainali broke election rules.
The article says that Barisan Nasional's Zakaria Hanafi, similarly broke election rules.
https://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2019/03/02/ph-candidate-aiman-broke-election-rules-bersih-alleges/
So what next! - Whoever wins gets subsequently disqualified and another byelection in Semenyih is called?
ENOUGH OF THIS SCHEISS - LAH!
Meanwhile, let's wait and see the results of the Semenyih byelection this evening.
That will be the ultimate opinion poll and the only one I can take seriously.
Yours truly
Selangor Scheiss
http://selangorscheiss.blogspot.com/
