TERENGGANU Kemaman incumbent Ahmad Shabery Cheek said happiness and better quality of life were two elements that money could not buy.

The caretaker youth and sports minister has been making regular visits to his area for the past five years in what he describes as a “very big” constituency.

ahmad shabery cheek 041108 01 He said 15 days of campaigning were not enough to win the hearts of the voters.

Ahmad Shabery ( left ) was clearly referring to his opponent, PKR’s Kamarudin Chik, who is a fresh face in the area.

“It takes me 90 minutes to get from one end to the other end of Kemaman. There are 120 villages here with 91,942 voters. Even if you spend one day in one village, you still need 120 days," he said.

“The local people are diverse … you have fishermen, farmers, Felda settlers, businessmen and those from the oil and gas industry. The problems are diverse, too, from land issues to matters of the sea.

"It is impossible to solve all the issues but what is possible is to make sure the folks here earn a better living. We have done that and we will continue elevating their quality of life.”

Ahmad Shabery, however, admitted he would need to dwell into the conversion of land issues as many land owners in Kemaman were changing their land titles from agriculture to industrial or residential.

“It is a natural progression and but we still need to look into the process and discuss with the land office of how best can we help the locals with such conversions," he said.

He seemed bullish of staying put in Kemaman but wished Kamarudin best of luck in the spirit of sportsmanship.

“If Kamarudin can find his way around town, that will be good already," he said.

“I know there are voters elsewhere who don’t care about the individual but are voting for the party, but this is not the case in Kemaman.

It is a good challenge and it pushes all of us to work harder.

“Politics aside, the people of Kemaman matters the most.”

- The Malay Mail