'Neglected' natives might snub BN
Malaysiakini.com
Mar 07, 2008
Syed Jaymal Zahiid 

Orang Asli residents in Desa Temuan, an area that falls under the MCPX Bukit Lanjan state constituency, claim to be victims of government negligence.

Despite being the richest Orang Asli community in Malaysia after receiving a hefty compensation in return for their land, the Temuan people are far from happy.

According to them, their lives have been robbed of its essence by government development.

In the past, their source of income and livelihood centred around their ancestral land. Most of them are unskilled labourers who find it difficult to secure employment.

"Yes, we were compensated when the developers, under the approval of the government, wanted to take our land but this supposed riches have turned into a curse," lamented one resident when met yesterday.

Never see them around

elizabeth wong 070308 02Malaysiakini had followed PKR candidate for the Bukit Lanjan state seat Elizabeth Wong on her campaign trail.

Wong has stepped up her campaign with a house-to- house visit in a bid to wrest the seat away from MCA incumbent Yong Dai Ying. The latter defeated PKR candidate V Paneerselbam with a 8,339 majority in the 2004 polls.

"BN (Barisan Nasional) people are always here only when elections is near. We never see them around when we need them," said the resident who preferred to remain anonymous.

According to Wong, Desa Temuan was formally a Temuan Orang Asli settlement.

It was bought over by MK Land Holdings a few years ago and was later developed into what is known now as Damansara Perdana.

The Temuan people were then compensated with a single story bungalow for each family and were also given a huge amount of financial compensation.

"Some of them would rent out the house and go back to live in the jungle where they can return to their traditional ways of surviving, by farming again," said another resident.

Break the monopoly

Wong said there is a need to break the monopoly of BN candidates in the state assembly to prevent similar incidents from happening and the only way of doing this is to "give the opposition the chance to prove itself."

Residents there also complained about regular floods due to the faulty sewerage system and improper planning in terms of construction.

Apart from this, they also said that their houses have to be constantly repaired because of the poor materials used.

Wong stressed that the voters must break the BN monopoly to ensure that the state government uses the taxpayers’ money to improve people’s lives.

"Instead of doing this, the Selangor state government is throwing away millions of taxpayers money on wasteful projects like the exco village," she said.

In view of the many ‘blatant abuses’, the PKR candidate is confident that the voters will back her come polling day tomorrow.

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