Re-tarred roads prompt residents to wonder if it’s due to polls
SEMENYIH: For years, baker Hazariah Md Hisme has been frequenting Semenyih Sentral to replenish her stock.
Recently, she realised the roads were in better condition, with no potholes or broken sidewalks. She believed the roads had been re-tarred by the local authorities thanks to the by-election.
“I noticed the roads were upgraded three days ago. It’s really nice to see them improved. But really, my thought was it was done because of the by-election.
“It’s normally like that. Areas are well taken care of by the local councils when nearing important dates and, coincidentally, Semenyih is having a by-election.
“It’s good that the local council is doing its work. But if it is done because of the by-election, then that is a wrong idea,” she said.
Cobbler Hamid Chu, 45, agrees. He said the roads around Semenyih Sentral had been recently re-tarred after a long time.
Hamid, who has been living in Taman Pelangi for almost 20 years, said the roads in residential areas have not been upgraded for years.
He said it was more important to have some changes instead of none, but he hoped the local council would be more proactive when responding to residents.
“It has been like this since I moved here in 2000. It is normal to see road works just before anything big happens.
“This is Semenyih. Nothing really happens here. No improvements have been made since the government changed.
“We can see people coming here just because of the by-election. We will see if they continue to keep tabs after winning,” he said.
Checks by the New Straits Times showed that roads had been tarred from Jalan Besar toJalan Semenyih Sentral, up to the bus terminal.
A Kajang Municipal Council (MPKj) spokesman said the upgrading of roads near Semenyih Sentral was routine.
He said the upgrading works were not just in Semenyih, but also other areas under MPKj’s purview in stages and based on necessity.
“The upgrading is done based on routine. Another reason roads are tarred over is due to utility works and they must be tarred after the work is done.
“Coincidently, the area is now in focus, but MPKj can focus only on areas that have been reported by the residents or based on checks by our officers.”
As hot weather is predicted on polling day this Saturday, voters are advised to apply sunscreen and drink lots of water while waiting to vote at polling centres.
The National Weather and Geophysics Operational Centre has issued a forecast for the by-election on the Malaysian Meteorological Department (METMalaysia) website, stating that temperatures in the morning could hit between 27°C and 30°C.
A sunny day is expected in the Semenyih constituency, with temperatures set to soar in the afternoon to 33°C.
An estimated 53,520 voters are expected to cast their votes.
The by-election was called after the death of assemblyman Bakhtiar Mohd Nor, 57, on Jan 11.
There will be a four-cornered fight between Pakatan Harapan candidate Muhammad Aiman Zainali, Zakaria Hanafi of Barisan Nasional, Nik Aziz Afiq Abdul from Parti Sosialis Malaysia and independent candidate Kuan Chee Heng.