WHILE observers expect race and religion to be heavily used during the campaign period for the Semenyih by-election, voters, however, are more concerned with the new government’s unfulfilled promises, cost of living and even the smoking ban at eateries.

“They have not even fulfilled half of the promises made in the last elections,” said Soiy Johan, as he tucked into his dinner after finishing his shift as a security guard in Tesco Semenyih.

Soiy, who lives in one of the 13 villages scattered in the 54,503-voter seat, said not much has changed since Pakatan Harapan took over.

“The newly appointed village chief by Pakatan is still from Umno, although he now has a Bersatu flag, prices are still high and petrol still moves up and down,” said the 53-year-old father of five.

“The only change for me so far is that I only get RM300 from today’s government compared to the RM1,200 under BN.”

Soiy, of Minangkabau descent, said he voted for PAS in the Sesapan Batu Rembau village during the 14th general election, and given his complaints, is willing to vote for Barisan Nasional in the by-election for the state seat on March 2.

BN only lost in GE14 because of Najib Razak, he said.

“I rejected BN because of Najib Razak but there doesn’t seem to be any difference after Pakatan won,” he added, as he watched the former prime minister shop at his workplace on Wednesday night.

The race and religious sentiment baiting that worked so well in the Cameron Highlands by-election, and which political analysts expect will be used in Semenyih, may not work so well in the Selangor state seat.

Use of the race and religious card is expected because Semenyih is a Malay-majority seat, and Umno will be facing its splinter party, Bersatu – the first time in all the six by-elections since GE14 that both Malay parties will face each other.

“We are not like them (in Cameron Highlands) here,” said 63-year-old army veteran Zainuddin Mohd.

“What can they do? Tell us DAP members are communists again?”

The voter from Kg Sg Jai said there were also Malay communists in the past and this line that is often employed against DAP will not work in Semenyih.

Of bigger concern for him was the shrinking number of Malay villages that was slowly taken up by property developers.

“Kg Sesapan Kelubi used to be bigger but it has gotten smaller as some people sold their lands to developers.”

Tucked behind the main trunk road of Jalan Semenyih lies some 13 villages leading all the way to Bukit Broga and Bukit Arang.

While villages closer to the Negri Sembilan border like Kg Sg Jai, Sesapan Minangkabau and Sesapan Bt Rembau remain relatively untouched, others such as Sesapan Batu Rembau, Kg Rinching and Sesapan Kelubi are not so lucky.

Major developments such as Eco Hill, Sunway Semenyih, Bandar Tasik Kesuma and Eco Majesty are crowding the fringes of these peaceful villages.

At Sesapan Minangkabau, retired Yayasan Selangor officer Yunos Jai said it’s just a matter of time before all the villages are eaten up.

“Village life has changed so much. Most of the youths here now work in factories, leaving the villages empty most of the day.

“It’s only around 5pm, that you see warungs (stalls) open up and life is back to normal here,” he added.

For retired lorry driver Osman Yusop, the cost of living still hasn’t come down despite Pakatan’s promises to improve the economy.

“I’m not expecting prices to drop by half but it should come down a bit,” said the 67-year-old.

The ringgit has continued to depreciate despite the change of government. On May 9, the ringgit was trading at 3.94 to the US Dollar and 8.06 against the Thai Baht. On January 31, the ringgit dropped to 4.09 against the greenback and 7.64 against the Baht.

And where the village men had looked forward to gathering at their favourite stalls to gossip and trade complaints, the smoking ban enforced at all eateries since January 1 has been a killjoy to these sessions.

Osman, who runs a small warung in Kg Sg Jai with his wife, selling food and petrol to villagers, said the new smoking ban was an unwelcome hassle.

“People in the village come out at night for a smoke and a drink. This new ruling has caused a drop in customers at night, especially for the stalls outside,” he said, while puffing on his third kretek during the interview at the food stall.

“But here, everything’s normal,” said Osman as he gestured to other patrons at his food stall who were also smoking. He did not attempt to stop them.

“I have been to Singapore and I know the non-smoking laws there. But they at least allow a small area for smokers.

“This government doesn’t give us any options at all,” he said.

The Semenyih by-election will be a four-cornered fight between PH, BN, Parti Sosialis Malaysia and an independent candidate. – February 17, 2019.