Most opposition politicians in Perak are facing financial strangulation as the federal government chokes off their constituencies' annual allocations in an apparent bid to kill their political careers.

They are now struggling to balance their duties as elected representatives to service their constituencies with attempting to meet their service centres' monthly expenses on shoe-string monthly allowances.

psm gst forum 210110 d jeyakumar To combat this, Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) Sungai Siput parliamentarian Dr D Jeyakumar ( left ) has embarked on harnessing people's power to force the relevant authorities to fulfill their responsibilities.

The trigger was most government departments and agencies slamming their doors shut whenever the politician cum cardiologist approached them seeking solutions for his constituents' problems.

So, Jeyakumar switched to the alternative strategy of using people's power to get what is rightfully theirs.

It starts off with signature campaigns and firing off memorandums to the relevant authorities seeking action.

If this fails, the next target is Menteri Besar Zambry Abdul Kadir and peaceful gatherings and protest marches to focus public and media attention on their plight.

Pharaohs in the way

Jeyakumar's concern is that it is the red tape and the ‘little pharaohs' in government departments that delay action although Zambry may have approved some of the plans for land, housing and other benefits for the people.

"Many politicians often forget that they are the servants of the public when they come to power and become arrogant and refuse to serve their constituents," said Jeyakumar.

He has compiled all his 2010 budget speeches into a 41-page booklet in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil.

Yesterday at a media conference at his PSM service centre in Sungai Siput, he handed over the booklets to about 50 of his constituents, telling them distribute them to relatives and friends.

The objective is for them to point out his shortcomings so that he can improve on his parliamentary performance.

The topics that he touched in his booklet include persistent poverty in rural communities, unscrupulous insurance companies, the undermining of health care in Malaysia, the negative aspects of direct foreign investments that affect Malaysian workers wages and rights and putting up Perak ground water for sale.

orang asli penang story 250109 Orang Asli in Kg Pos Bersih Orang Asli Affairs Committee member Angah Itam, 57, who was among the crowd, praised Jeyakumar for his dedicated commitment in ensuring that the 600 members of his community residing in Kampung Lawai in Sungai Siput get electricity after 50 years of BN rule.

Angah told Malaysiakini that his community has been neglected by the BN all these years for until Jeyakumar came into the picture in 2008.

Angah said of the about 5,000 Orang Asli living in the Lasah district of Sungai Siput, many live without power supply, proper roads and housing.

Their other demands include welfare for the single mothers and widows, business loans for the community to uplift their economic status and increase the acreage of oil palm cultivation by 300 to 500 ha to boost their income.