COMMENT | Looking back at Slim - more than just a 'ghost town'
COMMENT | A week has passed since the Slim by-election when all eyes were focussed on this semi-rural seat near the border between Selangor and Perak.
Based on the cycle of by-elections, the natural thing that will happen is that the sleepy town will return to its "forgotten state" after two weeks of heavy courting by interested parties.
But there are many towns and villages around the country that deserve and need more long-term attention, not just a brief display of affection and interest.
Indeed Slim was given the title "ghost town" by an opposition leader who criticised BN's failure to develop the area.
It sounds condescending but having been in Slim since the nomination process in mid-August began, this writer can not deny the fact that Slim is a bit backwards even compared to other nearby towns such as Tanjung Malim, Behrang, Sungkai and Bidor.
That being said, the people of Slim are proud of who they are and where they are from.
Did you know that the first toll plaza in Malaysia was built in Slim? Yes, the first toll plaza in Malaysia was once located on the main road between Slim River to Tanjung Malim which opened in 1964. This 20km two-way road is called the Tanjung Malim-Slim River Highway.
Also, one of the oldest ...
COMMENT | Did you know that the first toll plaza in Malaysia was built in Slim?
Yes, the first toll plaza in Malaysia was once located on the main road between Slim River to Tanjung Malim which opened in 1964. This 20km two-way road is called the Tanjung Malim-Slim River Highway.
Also, one of the oldest surviving bridges in Malaysia, Pekan Trolak Bridge, was built in Slim in 1939, and the Trolak Post Office building - which is a British-era wooden building - is also another living tribute to Slim's past.
Slim is also famous for its Mokhtar Bread Factory and the 105 degree Celsius Ulu Slim hot spring, which according to the residents is among the 10 hottest hot springs in the world.
A week has passed since the Slim by-election when all eyes were on this semi-rural seat near the border between Selangor and Perak.
Based on the cycle of by-elections, it is expected for this sleepy town to return to its "forgotten state" after two weeks of heavy courting by interested parties.
Indeed Slim was given the title "ghost town" by an opposition leader who criticised BN's failure to develop the area over many decades.
It sounds condescending but Slim is relatively underdeveloped compared to other nearby towns such as Tanjung Malim, Behrang, Sungkai and Bidor.
That said, the people of Slim are proud of who they are and where they are from.
The two most prominent things during this by-election campaign were the issue of floods and the lack of lighting, particularly along rural roads.
As is well known, the issue of floods in Slim is almost five decades old and there is still no solution. Rain of more than two hours will make one-third of the town (especially Kg Baru Slim, Kg Kuala Slim, Trolak Pekan, Trolak Utara and Pekan Lama) flooded.
To this day there is no solution. This is despite the promise of Perak Menteri Besar Ahmad Faizal Azumu to allocate RM200,000 to solve the flood problem.
Clean sweep
Slim voters gave Umno candidate Mohd Zaidi Aziz an enormous win on Aug 29 making him the third assemblyperson after Junus Wahid and Mohd Khusairi Abdul Talib, to represent the state seat since 1986.
Umno fulfilled its prediction of winning the by-election with an unexpectedly large majority of 10,945 votes over independent candidate Amir Khusyairi Mohamad Tanusi representing Pejuang, the new party of former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, launched three days before the by-election.
In fact, Umno with the cooperation of PAS enjoyed a clean sweep of all 13 voting district centres after losing six of them in GE14.
Interestingly, Bersatu's involvement in the campaign to support the Umno candidate appeared to be low key.
Among the Bersatu leaders who came down to Slim were cabinet ministers Mohamed Azmin Ali, Saifuddin Abdullah, Zuraida Kamaruddin and the Perak MB. However, they came down here as cabinet ministers and state government representatives instead of Bersatu leaders.
Put simply, Bersatu was not really invited to Slim. The Umno-PAS combo, also known as Muafakat Nasional (MN), was more than enough to give the BN candidate a convincing victory.
For example, the total number of votes obtained by Umno and PAS respectively in GE14 was 12,430 compared to this by-election's 13,060 - an additional 630 votes although the turnout was lower at 68.4 percent.
Of the 13 polling districts, six - Besaout 1, 2 and Besaout Besaout 5, Trolak North, South Trolak and Changkat Sulaiman - are Malay majority. The number of votes obtained by BN in these six polling districts was not much different when compared to GE14.
In Besaout 1, BN received 1,294 in this by-election - an additional one vote compared to the total number of votes received by Umno and PAS candidates in GE14 which was 1,294 votes.
In Trolak Selatan, another Felda area, BN got 1,802 votes compared to 1,727 votes in the last GE. That's 75 extra votes.
We also see the average turnout in Malay majority areas better than the overall percentage of 68.4 percent in this by-election.
Trolak Utara was the only Malay heartland to record a turnout of below 70 percent and even that was 68 percent.
The other five areas, Changkat Sulaiman (76 percent), Trolak Selatan (71 percent), Besaout 2 (76 percent), Besaout 1 (70 percent) and Besaout 5 (76 percent) all recorded more than 70 percent or close.
Low turnout among non-Malays
For mixed constituencies such as Kampung Kuala Slim and Trolak Pekan, the turnout was 61 percent and 58 percent respectively.
Meanwhile, five other polling districts that had non-Malays majority recorded the lowest voter turnout, indicating that the communities, perhaps comprising Pakatan Harapan supporters, did not feel motivated to turn out and support Mahathir's candidate.
Among them were Ladang Sungkai (53 percent), Pekan Lama (54 percent), Pekan Slim (48 percent), Sungai Slim Utara (51 percent) and Ladang Kelapa Bali (56 percent).
Overall, the results of this by-election make it clear that the people of Slim are still hoping for BN to rule.
But a question that is often raised, is whether the voters and the people of Slim deserve more than just the title of "ghost town".
However, the people of Slim feel that their "forgotten state" is not unfamiliar to them.
"I can be sure, if, journalists come back to Slim in GE15, the flood issue will still be there. I am not sure how many times this promise will be made," said one resident from Kg Kuala Slim.
Try riding a motorcycle into Changkat Sulaiman, Trolak Selatan or Felda G Besaout at night. It is indeed scary to do so in complete darkness.
"Almost every week there will be accidents due to poor lighting," said a voter from Trolak Selatan.
Are Malaysians living in the city the only ones to have the right to enjoy development? Surely living in semi-rural areas doesn't mean that one should not receive basic amenities such as street lights and to have to accept flood-prone areas.
If there is a chance, I hope to return to Slim in GE15 and see some real improvements.
B Nantha Kumar is a Malaysiakini team member.
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