Assemblyman visits ‘unfriendly’ areas in constituency

JULAU: Meluan assemblyman Rolland Duat believes that he has won new grounds after visiting the areas where he received low or no votes in the last state election.

The trip to one of these ‘unfriendly’ areas on Friday resulted in a turnout of about 300 people including 52 ‘tuai rumah’ (longhouse chieftains) for his ‘Leader With Community’ gathering at Rumah Seman in Lasi area near here.

Rolland admitted that it was his first visit to the area after winning Meluan for Barisan Nasional (BN) with a slim majority of 677 votes in the state election last year.

In the state polls, Rolland garnered a total of 3,363 votes against 2,008 obtained by PKR’s Semana Sawang, 2,686 by Elly Lawai and 934 by Jerry Clement – the latter two were Independent candidates.

“Most of the time throughout my first year as the elected representative had been spent on visiting areas where I garnered more votes than my opponents’. I believe I have made the right decision as the supporters deserve to get special attention from me.

“Of course during those visits, I distributed quite substantial amounts of funds under Minor Rural Project (MRP) and Rural Transformation Programme (RTP) grants, apart from other forms of development funds allocated through various ministries and agencies.”

Nevertheless, Rolland said he never thought about neglecting the areas where he got very little support as the main reason that he offered himself to be the assemblyman was to serve the people of Meluan and as a local, he understood their aspirations and needs very well.

Another reason why he decided to visit these ‘less-friendly’ areas later was out of fear that he would not be welcomed by the locals there.

However, his first visit to Lasi in particular changed this perception – the attendance at the gathering was far more than the 96 who voted for him in the last election. Moreover, he thanked Tuai Rumah Seman for making a headstart to unite the folk and ensure progress for Meluan across all aspects.

He was also touched by the sincerity of the people, who admitted that they had made the wrong decision in the last state election and pledged to make amends in the next polls.

Rolland assured his constituents that he planned to visit other longhouses in the area after this.

“I also hope that in the next election, I could win with a comfortable majority as this represents a strong bargaining power in fighting for our share of development funds.”

Later, Rolland presented a cheque for RM40,000 – of which RM20,000 is for acquiring a piece of land for a new burial ground, and RM20,000 for construction of road to the site.

He also announced a grant of RM20,000 for Rumah Seman security and development committee (JKKK), and RM3,000 for its women’s bureau.

Moreover, the assemblyman also approved the RM2,000 requested by the women’s bureau of the nearby Rumah Jimmy for purchase of kitchenware.

Julau District police chief DSP Bidol Noyeng and several local community leaders were among those present at the gathering.