THE Bentong parliamentary seat in Pahang must be one of the most watched seats in this general election.

An out-of-favour incumbent is defending his seat as an Independent after he was dropped by his party, a four-term MP who lost it in 2018 polls is hoping to make a comeback and a fresh-faced young Malay woman is hoping to upset the apple cart.

Wong Tack defeated former MCA president Liow Tiong Lai, who was the MP for 14 years from 2004, in the last election on the Pakatan Harapan (PH) ticket.

Both men will pick up where they left off but under different circumstances.

PH dropped Wong, forcing him to defend his seat as an Independent candidate.

In his place, PH has put its hopes on 33-year-old Young Syefura Othman.

The other two candidates in the five-cornered contest for this seat where the Malays make up 46.5% of the voters, the Chinese (41.69%) and the Indians (9.16%) are Roslan Hassan of Perikatan Nasional (PN) and a second Independent, Achik Khalil.

Liow and Young Syefura are not only considered the front-runners but are giving the 87,058 voters here a tough choice to make.

Wong’s chances of retaining his seat have been dismissed as analysts have said voters will dump him over his poor performance when he was their representative.

The Malaysian Insight’s sampling found the older voters, who have fond memories of Barisan Nasional’s Liow and what he had done in his four terms, seemed happy to see him back.

That sentiment is, however, tampered by the fact they also want to give the three-party PH, with Anwar Ibrahim as its prime minister candidate, another shot at forming the federal government.

Forty-two-year-old secretary Winnie Au is just one of the voters who have yet to make up her mind on who she will vote for this Saturday.

Au said she liked one of the candidates but that candidate represented a “bad party”.

“The person is good, but the party is not,” she said.

In apparent reference to Young Syefura, Au said she is still new and unsure how she will perform if she is elected.

The 22 months PH was in power before it collapsed due to defections is also a point Au seemed to be considering.

She said if PH had been in power for a longer period, then it would be much easier for her to make a decision as she could gauge what it is capable of.

Au said for the moment, it is a toss between Liow and Young Syefura.

“Both have their own merits, that’s why I’m still undecided,” she said.

Whoever wins Bentong, Au’s one big wish is for the elected person to give the best service to Bentong.

Lee Kim Fong, a 76-year-old housewife, similarly is in a quandary over who to vote for.

She said that is the reason why she attended all the ceramah of both PH and BN to listen to what their messages are.

“Liow Tiong Lai has done well in the past and he is making it difficult for me to decide. It’s really hard to choose now,” she said.

“I probably won’t have an answer until the moment I cast my vote.”

Ghost town

Fruit farmer Lee Geik Tay, who shares similar sentiments with Au on PH’s fleeting time in power, said although PH’s performance “got worse” in the final days of its governance, the 22 months did not give it much time to do anything.

For a 67-year-old retiree, who wants to be known only as “Mr Tan”, he has made up his mind.

He said he will vote for Liow.

“It will definitely be Liow. He had in the past shown what he could do for Bentong,” he said.

“The PH candidate is new. I’ll elect someone who does things and does not tell you to solve the problems on our own,” he said in apparent criticism of Wong’s performance.

Another retiree, Chong Ngan Lai, said while Liow had performed well when he was the MP, she said she was upset at what the former MCA chief allegedly did by demolishing the town’s Cultural Street after he lost in the 2018 polls.

Liow had said the allegation was unfounded as the demolition work on the street was undertaken by the Cultural Street Management Committee and had nothing to do with him.

The 61-year-old said she still remembers the days when the Bentong Cultural Street – a project initiated by Liow in 2015 and aimed at attracting more tourists to boost the local economy – was around.

She said then the hotels were often full and Bentong was a lively town even after dark.

“Now, Bentong is very quiet at night and hardly anyone is there. It’s only on weekends and holidays that people come for day trips and just to do some shopping,” she said.

“Hopefully, after the election, Bentong will attract more people back.”

Flood issues

Another matter constituents are upset with is the major floods that occurred last December and March this year.

Chong alleged that the parties contesting in this election did not help the people when they needed help.

“Now, they want us to help them with our votes,” she said.

Chong said there have been incidents where election campaigners of certain candidates and parties have been hounded out of villages that were hit hard by the floods.

“The villagers are asking, ‘Where were you guys when the floods occurred?” she asked.

Chong said the campaigners, in the face of such hostilities, turned and walked away.

First-time voter Angelina Chew said Young Syefura might have the edge over her better-known and experienced candidates.

The 21-year-old undergraduate said PH has the edge because its former representative, Wong, had been servicing the constituency for the past four years.

“Liow was rarely seen,” she said.

In the 2018 polls, the number of registered voters in Bentong was 67,359, but with the implementation of Undi18 giving those aged 18 years and above the right to vote and the automatic voter registration, the number has jumped by 19,699 to 87,058 voters this general election. – November 16, 2022.