DESPITE living deep in the interior, the Orang Asli in Tasik Chini have not allowed the hassle of long-distance travel to prevent them from casting their ballots in the Chini state by-election today.

Awang Kasim, 65, who lives in an Orang Asli settlement with seven families in Tasik Chini, was one of those who made it a point to fulfil their responsibility as voters.

He and his wife Risom Entet, 64, and their youngest daughter Linda Awang, 25, left home in Kampung Cenahan at 7am to be in time to vote at SK Khincir in Sungai Duri, near here.

Awang said they had to take a 15-minute boat ride to the nearest jetty in Kampung Gumum before boarding a vehicle for a 15-km journey by road to the polling centre.

“We left our house early to make sure we were not caught in long queues (at the polling centre). Even then I had to line up for more than 30 minutes to vote,” he told Bernama after casting his ballot.

The father of seven said he chose to go to the polling centre by boat and car because the journey overland would take longer and involve travelling on rough terrain in oil palm plantations.

“My children preferred the land route although they had to travel for close to an hour. Better to use my own boat and let people ferry me to the polling station,” said the tour boat operator in Tasik Chini.

Risom, who was voting for the fourth time, said she took her responsibility as a voter seriously.

She said voting this time was a different experience because of the health and safety protocols.

“Previously I had to dip my finger into ink. Now I just stretched out my hand for it to be marked with ink, put on gloves and then voted,” she added.

Tasik Chini is home to two Orang Asli settlements – Kampung Cenahan and Tanjung Kuput – which have 18 families with 32 people registered to vote at SK Khincir.

The Chini by-election is a three-cornered fight Barisan Nasional’s Mohd Sharim Md Zain and two independent candidates – blogger Mohd Shukri Mohd Ramli and businessman Tengku Datuk Zainul Hisham Tengku Hussin.

The by-election was necessitated by the death of incumbent BN assemblyman Datuk Seri Abu Bakar Harun, 60, due to a heart attack on May 7. Abu Bakar had held the Chini seat since 2004. 

There are 20,990 registered voters in Chini. Some 1,900, or 22% of the voters are Orang Asli. – Bernama, July 4, 2020.