A new sign of the change in the public's attitude to politics is emerging which politicians would ignore at their cost.

And the Hulu Selangor by-election is seeingthis new turn in the country's democracy where the rakyat may not let any issue rest until satisfaction is achieved.

Those outside the constituency are increasingly exploiting the opportunity offered by the polls to take their grievances to senior national officials who are normally, for lesser mortals, remote figures.

One such example was the arrival of police gunshot victim Norizan Salleh at Kuala Kubu Bharu on Tuesday morning following in the footsteps of Bukit Koman, Pahang residents who brought their woes over cyanide poisoning in their area to town earlier this week.

MCA politician faces public wrath

And MCA vice-president and Raub MP Ng Yen Yen felt the direct heat of this new wave when confronted by her Bukit Koman electorate for around 20 minutes.

During their heated argument, some 30 members of the Bukit Koman Anti-Cyanide Committee argued that the gold mining operations are endangering the villagers' health.

NONE "Its already been a year since my father passed away!" yelled one enraged committee member at Ng ( back to camera .

When she declined take up their challenge for an open debate on the issue, the committee members left in frustration .

"There are many BN leaders here now and I want to bring my case to their attention," Norizan said at a PKR press conference on Tuesday morning.

Norizan was mistakenly shot five times while travelling on a highway in Ampang last year which left her with a crippled left wrist.

Her lawyer N. Surendran said that nothing has been done since they submitted a memorandum to Home Minister Hishamuddin Hussein last month.

NONE Despite promising to look into the matter, Surendran added, Hishamuddin had actually risen to the defence of the police and attacked Norizan ( in yellow shirt ), by saying that the police were justified because sharp objects were found in the car.

Another issue brought up at the press conference was that of 52 Hulu Selangor Welfare Department part-time workers who were owed five days wages after their services were terminated suddenly via text message in January, with the department citing lack of funds.

Senator S. Ramakrishnan told reporters that the workers, some of whom were informed of their termination through their friends, will hold a protest in front of the Welfare Department in Kuala Kubu Bharu building on Friday if their wages are not paid in full.