GE13: Arson bid causes small fire at Barisan operations centre

Searching for clues: Policemen investigating the arson case at the Barisan operations centre in Parit 9.

SEKINCHAN: A bottle of gasoline was hurled at a Barisan Nasional operations centre in Parit 9, Sungai Leman here, causing a small fire.

Sungai Besar OCPD Supt Noor Mushar Mohd said police found the bottle at the centre when they went to check the premises following a report lodged at 4.50am here yesterday.

“There was an attempt to burn the place. There were scorch marks along the outer wall,” he said yesterday.

A party flag and an Election Commission (EC) banner telling voters that the voting centre had been moved to SR Agama Parit 9 were also burnt, he added.

Supt Noor Mushar said police were investigating the case, adding that so far, there was no suspect.

“We will make sure that the culprit is caught. We urge all parties not to resort to such stupid tactics,” he said, adding that the fire was not serious.

Kampung Parit 9 federal village committee chairman Zulkafli Hassan, who lodged the police report, said he received a call at about 4am that the centre was on fire.

“Fortunately, some of the villagers were able to douse the fire,” he said.

Ismail Sutan, who owns the land on which the community hall housing the centre was built, said no such incident had ever happened before.

EC enforcement officer Mohamad Marwan Ahmad Tajun said he would hand over a report to the commission's headquarters in Putrajaya.

“This is a police case and we will leave it to them to investigate,” he said.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

GE13: Pakatan has put up trustworthy candidates, says Anwar

Warm welcome: Anwar being greeted by his supporters upon arriving in Sungai Besar.

SABAK BERNAM: Opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim says Pakatan Rakyat has put up trustworthy candidates to contest in the general election.

He said PKR, PAS and DAP had done a good job in their selection.

“We are talking about akhlak (moral values),” he said at a ceramah here yesterday.

Anwar hit out at the Barisan Nasional for fielding Perkasa vice-president Datuk Zulkifli Nordin for the Shah Alam parliamentary seat, saying that this proved that the ruling coalition was devoid of “good candidates.”

“This is the kind of candidate they have. I told Khalid Samad (the PAS candidate in Shah Alam) that he is lucky,” said Anwar, drawing laughter from the crowd.

Anwar also hit out at Barisan for not contesting the Pasir Mas parliamentary seat in Kelantan, claiming that former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad had asked incumbent MP Datuk Ibrahim Ali to recontest there.

The Barisan's Che Johan Che Pa did not submit his nomination papers for the seat, saying he did so because he looked up to Ibrahim.

He also reiterated that Pakatan would reduce oil prices on May 7 if it took over Putrajaya.

Those at the ceramah were asked to donate RM20 each to Pakatan for the hi-tea served.

However, only slightly more than half the tables were filled.

Anwar also attended other events at Sungai Besar, Kuala Selangor, Tanjung Karang and Batang Berjuntai.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

GE13: Group of DAP supporters in Sekinchan switches camps

The Star

By BK SIDHU and LOH FOON FONG

SEKINCHAN: Some 200 people here claiming to be DAP supporters have shifted allegiance to Barisan Nasional.

The group brought down DAP banners at the Sungai Leman operations centre here around 2am Monday and replaced them with Barisan banners.

One supporter, Asri Zainian, 64, claimed the Opposition party had not kept its promises.

He said he was originally a PAS member and had supported DAP for five years.

Asked if he had withdrawn his PAS membership, he said he would submit the documents soon.

The operation centre was set up two weeks ago by DAP supporters. Sited 10m from the gate of the polling station in SK Sungai Leman, is a strategic location for drawing votes.

Sungai Besar Umno committee member Jamil Ramli said the group comprised Malays aged 21 to 50, who were either PAS or PKR members.

Another supporter who defected, Zulkifli Idris, claimed the Opposition Pakatan Rakyat coalition's promise of street lights and other amenities had not been delivered.

"Our village is still in darkness."

The population of Sungai Leman is 3,500, with 2,500 of the residents being voters.

The 13th general election, in which 222 parliamentary and 505 state seats are being contested, will be held on May 5.

Meanwhile, Sekinchan incumbent Ng Suee Lim said not more than 10 people claiming to be DAP supporters had contacted the party a few days ago and volunteered their assistance for the elections.

He said he had not expected them to defect to Barisan Nasional.

He added that the group had contacted one of the two DAP Malay exco members to pledge support and its number was not 200 as claimed by Jamil.

"I only knew them for these few days when one of them volunteered his house to be used as a DAP operatiosn centre in Sungai Leman," he said Monday.

He said it did not occur to him to check their background and motive before accepting their offer to assist the DAP but would be more careful from now.

GE13: Former teachers and retired lecturer for Sabak Bernam and Sungai Besar seats

By B.K. Sidhu and Loh Foon Fong
newsdesk@thestar.com.my

Mohd Fasiah: The Sabak Bernam Umno secretary will stand against Abdul Aziz.

THE contest for the Sabak Bernam and Sungai Besar parliamentary constituencies will mostly be between educators, with Barisan Nasional and PAS fielding former teachers and a retired lecturer.

For the two parliamentary and four state seats in Sabak Bernam and Sungai Besar, PAS is fielding four current or retired teachers while PKR, one retired lecturer.

Retired constitutional law lecturer Dr Abdul Aziz Bari, 54, from PKR, is contesting the Sabak Bernam parliamentary seat against Sabak Bernam Umno secretary Mohd Fasiah Mohd Faken, 57.

In response to why most candidates in the two parliamentary seats were educators, Dr Abdul Aziz Bari said it was purely coincidence.

“This profession provides the training for candidates to relate with people,” he said, adding that Sabak Bernam is his hometown.

For Sungai Air Tawar state seat, former headmaster and first time candidate Wahid Rais, in his 60s, will take on Sabak Bernam Umno committee member Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik, 55.

As for Sabak state seat, Sallehen Mukhyi (1999-2004), who operates a religious school, will be contesting against Sabak Bernam Umno vice-chief Abdul Halim Udin, 46.

Abdul Aziz: Says the profession provides the training for candidates to relate with people

For Sallehen, 40, this is his fourth attempt to unseat his opponent. He was Sungai Besar state assemblyman from 1999 to 2004.

The Sungai Besar constituency was made a parliamentary seat in 2004.

“I do not see this as a privilege but a responsibility to serve.

“I lost in the last election by a marginal 170-odd votes but this time around, I am hopeful of winning as we now have the experience of running the state (Selangor) since 2008’,” he said.

For the Sungai Air Tawar state seat, former headmaster and first-time candidate Wahid Rais, in his 60s, will take on Sabak Bernam Umno committee member Kamarol Zaki Abdul Malik, 55.

PAS Sungai Besar deputy chief and retired teacher Mohd Salleh Husin, 65, is contesting for the first time for the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat against Sungai Besar Wanita Umno chief Datuk Noriah Kasnon, 49.

“As a former teacher, I like to educate and empower people,” he said.

Mohd Salleh said he will do his best to win.

Religious teacher Fadzlin Taslimin, 63, will be contesting the Sungai Panjang state seat against Sungai Besar Umno youth chief Budiman Mohd Zohdi, 41.

Fadzlin, is contesting the seat for the fourth time.

Meanwhile, the Sekinchan state seat will be contested by DAP’s Sekinchan assemblyman Ng Suee Lim, 42, who will take on Sungai Besar MCA chairman Kek Seng Hooi.

Ng, contesting for the fourth time, said he would fight to defend the seat and help Pakatan form the next Federal Government. The fight for this seat is expected to be intense.

GE13: Selangor’s agricultural heartland

Metro Central, The Star

By LOH FOON FONG
foonfong@thestar.com.my

Photos by AZLINA BT ABDULLAH

Sleepy little town: Pekan Sabak Bernam is the town centre for Sabak Bernam, Selangor.

Political parties will have to prove they can help the planters, farmers and fishermen of Sabak Bernam to harvest the most votes for GE13.

THE Sabak Bernam parliamentary constituency is located in the north-west of Selangor, bordering Perak.

It is known for its fishing villages as well as padi fields but in recent decades, oil palm plantations have also sprung up.

There are seven small fishing villages (bagan) in Sabak Bernam — Bagan Sungai Burung, Bagan Sungai Pulai, Bagan Nakhoda Omar, Bagan Sungai Tawar, Bagan Parit Baru, Bagan Teluk Rhu and Bagan Sungai Lang.

Although there are more fishing villages in Sabak Bernam than in the Sungai Besar parliament constituency, there are fewer fishermen in the former.

Each bagan in Sabak Bernam is home to between 50 and 100 fishermen with almost 2,000 in Bagan Sungai Besar alone and another 350 in Sekinchan.

The fishermen in Sabak Bernam are mainly Chinese Teochews while the rest are of Javanese, Banjar, Bugis and Malay descent.

Oil palm plantations have overtaken coconut plantations as the other economic activity and can be found in the Sungai Air Tawar area.

Landmark: Masjid Jamek in Sabak Bernam.

Other types of agriculture that can be found in Sabak Bernam are coconut, cocoa and banana.

The main town for the parliamentary constituency is Pekan Sabak Bernam and among its landmarks are the Sabak Bernam District Museum in Jalan Pasar, adjacent to the District Library building, facing Masjid Jamek.

It displays the history of agriculture and fisheries in the Sabak Bernam district as well as in Selangor in general and has a collection of traditional fishing and agricultural equipment.

Kelong Sabak Bernam, commonly referred to as Kelong Paradise (or Banglo Samudra), an offshore platform, is sought after by anglers who want to fish in peace in the middle of the sea.

The state seats in the Sabak Bernam constituency are Sungai Air Tawar and Sabak.

In the 2008 general election, Datuk Abdul Rahman Bakri won the Sabak Bernam (P92) parliamentary seat by 1,335 votes, defeating PKR candidate Badrulamin Bahron.

However, he has since been sentenced to six years in jail and fined RM400,000 for making false claims for events that never took place in 2009.

Among the names that have been thrown about as potential candidates are the Sabak Bernam Umno division secretary Mohamed Fasiah Fakeh, who happens to be the third cousin of PKR member Dr Abdul Aziz Bari; Sabak Bernam Umno vice-chief Halim Udin; and of late, former deputy science, technology and environment minister Datuk Zainal Dahlan.

On the other side, PKR member and former law lecturer Dr Abdul Aziz will be contesting the seat.

Busy farmer: Wak Bani attending to his freshwater fish farm in Parit 12 Barat in Sabak while his padi farm is being prepared for the next planting season.

In the Sungai Air Tawar (N1) state seat, Datuk Raja Ideris @ Raja Idris Raja Ahmad, who won by a narrow majority of 123 votes in 2008, said he was stepping down.

“I have decided not to stand again.

“I have told the Prime Minister that I have withdrawn from contesting,” he said.

Among the potential candidates are Sabak Bernam Umno Youth chief Abd Samad Dawood and his deputy Nizam Ismail.

For Pakatan, a PAS candidate is expected to be fielded and the potential names include Zamri Yahya, coordinating officer for Sungai Air Tawar, former headmaster Wahid Rais and Mohd Jail Ikhsan.

For the Sabak (N2) state seat, it is not known if Barisan assemblyman Datuk Warno Dogol, who scraped through with a 117 majority in 2008, will be fielded again.

Halim Udin, better known as Cikgu Halim, has been tipped as the person who may contest instead of Warno.

Former state assemblyman for Sungai Besar, Ustaz Sallehen Mukhyi (1999-2004) from PAS is said to be a likely contestant for Sabak. He lost to Warno in the 2008 election.

Other potential names from Pakatan for the seat are Sabak Bernam PAS Youth chief Mohd Labis Abdul Jalil and Sabak Bernam PAS committee member Azmi Yusof.

Fisherman Mohammad Ali Othman, 60, a father of eight, said the livelihood of fishermen in Bagan Sungai Pulai in Sungai Besar had been affected by bigger boats crossing the 12th nautical mile boundary and coming nearer to shore.

“The nets they use for trawling, which are called pukat rimau, sweep all the fish up and leave nothing for us,” he said, adding that their boats could not operate without being obstructed by the nets.

Ali, who is still supporting two children in college and two in secondary school, said that many of the 80 small-time fishermen have abandoned their boats because it would incur losses if they went out to sea.

“We used to get RM300 for a day’s catch but in the last six months, we only get about RM70 and it is not even enough to cover our fuel,” he said.

He also pointed out some who did not go out to sea sold subsidised diesel to third parties.

Wak Bani Husin, 59, a padi farmer from Sabak, said he generally did not have problems with his fields and he could reap up to a 10-tonne yield from his 1.2ha of land.

However, the rainy season posed a problem to the padi field as the water is slow to flow out, he said.

“I hope the drainage system can be upgraded,” he said.

He said he had made a complaint to the Drainage and Irrigation Department but the problem had yet to be rectified.

Meanwhile, the drop in oil palm prices has affected oil palm planters in Sungai Air Tawar.

An oil palm planter who declined to be named said that oil palm free fruit bunch prices had gone from RM500 per tonne to a low RM360.

He appeals to the Government to step in and cap the price at RM400 per tonne, otherwise it will not be enough to cover the cost of running the plantation, buying fertiliser and paying workers’ wages.

He also said that some form of subsidy would help planters sustain economic activity.

A retiree in Sabak who wanted to be known only as Nordin, 66, said the Hospital Sabak Bernam lacks specialists and people had to travel all the way to Teluk Intan (40km) or Klang (100km) to get specialist treatment.

“It’s time we have a hospital with specialist doctors,” he said.

For more election stories, please visit The Star’s GE13 site

Beware of the "time bomb"

The Star

Many have irregular heartbeats that could contribute to a stroke

By LOH FOON FONG
foonfong@thestar.com.my

KUALA LUMPUR: Unknown to them, thousands of Malaysians are walking time bombs liable to explode anytime.

These people are unaware they have irregular heartbeats which could lead to blood clots or burst arteries that could result in death or severe physical incapacitation such as paralysis.

Atrial Fibrillation-Strike Out Stroke chairman Prof Dr Sim Kui Hian said 20% out of 49,000 patients with high blood pressure, were discovered to have irregular heartbeats.

“This does not include the diabetic group or other chronic diseases,” he said in a press conference yesterday after the launch of the Atrial Fibrillation-Strike Out Stroke in Malaysia book for medical care providers.

Dr Sim said one in five amongst the elderly suffered from irregular heartbeat or artrial fibrillation (AF) and that irregular heartbeat contributed to 15% of all stroke cases.

Deputy Health Director-General (Medical) Datuk Dr S. Jeyaindran said the prevalence of AF in Malaysia was 6.2% and it was much higher than the average 4% in other countries.

He said studies carried out last year in Hospital Kuala Lumpur looked at every fifth person out of 5,000 patients treated for non-communicable diseases.

Dr Jeyaindran said 46% of those aged 30 and above suffered from hypertension according to the National Health and Morbidity Survey.

“This is very high,” he said.

He urged doctors to monitor people from high risk groups such as smokers and those suffering from hypertension or diabetes.

He said patients could be treated with blood thinning medication if they have irregular heartbeat and this would help reduce their risk of a stroke.

Ultimately, Dr Jeyaindran urged people to adopt lifestyle changes such as reducing their salt and sugar intake.

Malaysian Society of Neurology president Prof Dr Hamidon Basri said once a person suffers a stroke, their condition would deteriorate at 5% every year.

He also said people were wrong to think they would be okay after overcoming mini strokes.

Prof Dr Hamidon added mini strokes were an indication that a bigger one (stroke) was on its way and patients must be continuously monitored because of this.

In his speech, Health Director-General Noor Hisham Abdullah said the Health Ministry’s publication, Health Facts 2012, reported that cardiovascular disease was the leading cause of mortality in hospitals, accounting for 25.64% of all deaths in 2011.

GE13: PSM being squeezed out by Pakatan

The Star

http://videos.thestar.com.my/View.aspx?vid=10049&cid=1

SEMENYIH: The bigger boys in Pakatan Rakyat are trying to squeeze Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) out of three of the four seats which the party intends to contest.

Apart from the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat, where there appears to be a consensus for PSM central committee member Dr Michael Jeyakumar to defend, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) wants to field its own candidates for the Kota Damansara and Semenyih state seats in Selangor, with DAP staking its claim to the Jelapang seat in Perak.

The Kota Damansara state seat, held by PSM chairman Dr Nasir Hashim, is being eyed by a lawyer aligned to PKR deputypresident Azmin Ali, who reportedly has given the green light for the lawyer to campaign.

“We feel this is quite ridiculous because Dr Nasir held the seat,” said PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan yesterday after declaring his assets.

His assets comprise a Perodua Kelisa worth RM14,000, an RM85,000 low cost house, RM5,000 in fixed deposit and RM1,356 in a savings account as well as a monthly income of RM3,000 and RM1,000 as Kajang municipal councillor, the amount of which goes towards financing his employee.

For the people: Dr Nasir showing a copy of PSM’s manifesto.

Denying allegations that Dr Nasir was facing health problems, Arutchelvan said: “He just had knee surgery and the doctor has given him a clean bill of health.”

Arutchelvan is expected to contest in Semenyih while the party's deputy head M. Sarasvathy is slotted to stand in Jelapang.

PSM candidates had contested under the PKR banner in the March 2008 general election as their party was waiting for its registration to be approved, which came about in June 2008.

Several PKR leaders who are lobbying for the seats object to PSM using its own logo to contest in this general election and claimed that the seats were won thanks to the PKR label.

“We are determined to carry on even if we are forced to stand on our own as we are confident of winning all four seats with our credible candidates,”Arutchelvan said.

He said PSM hoped to strike a compromise with the Pakatan parties when they meet Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahimover the weekend.

Anwar is scheduled to announce the PKR candidates for all the seats in Selangor on Sunday night in Hulu Klang.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

GE13: A three-cornered fight likely in Semenyih

IT COULD be a three-cornered fight in Semenyih if PKR does not consider Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) its ally.

PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan, who is also a councillor with the Kajang Municipal Council, is firm in his decision to contest the Semenyih seat for a second time.

He lost the state seat to Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz in the 2008 general election. Johan won with a majority of 1,140 votes.

“We contested on the PKR ticket as we were not a registered party yet.

“Now that we are a registered party, we will be contesting on our own ticket in this general election,” he said.

Last month, Arutchelvan called for a press conference to announce his personal “report card” on his performance in the constituency and PSM’s manifesto for Semenyih.

He added that PSM candidates would continue to support Pakatan Rakyat. The party had submitted a formal request to join Pakatan in September last year.

When asked if PKR would be fielding a candidate in Semenyih, Ampang MP and Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin said the party was still deciding if PSM was an ally.

However, sources said PAS might field its candidate there.

Meanwhile, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu’s announcement that he would be contesting in Pendang, Kedah, quashed speculation that he might be running for the Hulu Langat parliamentary seat.

In Kajang, there was talk that incumbent Lee Kim Sin would not be fielded.

On the other hand, Hulu Langat MCA division chief Jeffrey Lee Ban Seng, who was born and bred in Kajang, was tipped to be Barisan’s candidate for Kajang.

GE13: Prospect of Ghani-Lim clash heightens polls fever

The Star
(shared bylines)

JOHOR BARU: Gelang Patah is in the grip of election fever over the prospect of Mentri Besar Datuk Abdul Ghani Othman facing DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang.

The clash of the two political veterans a fiery opposition icon and a mild-mannered mentri besar, would make the constituency the epicentre of the 13th general election battle.

Gelang Patah has evolved from a sleepy hollow into a vibrant urban hub with numerous Iskandar Malaysia development projects.

Last night, Lim announced that he will take on Abdul Ghani for the Gelang Patah seat.

“I have decided to contest in Gelang Patah, not for myself or DAP, but for the people and the country.

“Let the people decide. If Abdul Ghani wants to come, I will not back off, we are not kia si (afraid to lose) or kia su (afraid to die or lose political career),” he said at a DAP ceramah in Batu Pahat last night.

Abdul Ghani, who is believed to be keen to take on the DAP adviser, has remained coy on the question.

“No, no, wait,” the four-term state assemblyman for Serom said when asked about the matter at Sengkang, Bukit Gambir, yesterday.

Although the Barisan Nasional MP is MCA's Tan Ah Eng, party president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek has not ruled out the possibility of Abdul Ghani as the candidate for Gelang Patah.

Universiti Sains Malaysia political analyst Assoc Prof Dr Sivamurugansaid Abdul Ghani had more advantage over Lim in Gelang Patah, but the sentiment of new voters was still unknown.

He said the mentri besar had garnered much support in the state through the years while the DAP adviser was being parachuted from Ipoh Timur.

According to an analysis carried by pro-opposition news portal Malaysiakini, Abdul Ghani's likely candidacy has put the DAP's campaign team on red alert because of the potential loss of crucial Malay votes.

The report, headlined “Ghani counterstrike could paralyse Kit Siang”, contended that with 52% and 12% of Chinese and Indian voters, respectively, DAP was at first confident that getting a majority of these votes and less than half of the 34% Malay votes would help Lim win the seat.

It noted that many Chinese Johoreans saw Abdul Ghani as a moderate and humble Umno leader and that the recent property boom in Iskandar had won him some applause, adding that if he could secure 85 % of the Malay votes, DAP would have to win 80% of Chinese votes and 40% of Indian votes to defeat the mentri besar with a thin majority of 1.5%.

■ For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

Related Stories:
GE13: MCA fine with swapping seats
GE13: Ghani's good ties with Chinese will be the key in Gelang Patah
GE13: Gelang Patah basking in the limelight thanks to Iskandar Malaysia developments

GE13: Ambiga: Abide by our code or be blacklisted

The Star

KUALA LUMPUR: Bersih 2.0 has come up with a Code of Conduct for Participants of the 13th General Election and Caretaker Government Guidelines.

Its chairman Datuk S. Ambiga said Bersih would blacklist politicians, including campaigners and volunteers from both sides of the divide, who did not adhere to the newly-launched guidelines.

“We are going to keep an eye on them via our election observers,” she said at a press conference by the Bersih 2.0 steering committee after its co-chairman A. Samad Said launched the code and guidelines.

Ambiga said that currently, there were about 3,000 election observers who had signed up with them and that they were targeting 10,000.

On what action would be taken against those who breached the code, Ambiga said their names and deeds would be listed on the Bersih website and it would be left to the public to decide whether they wanted to vote for such candidates.

She said the code and guidelines would be handed to the Election Commission today.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

GE13: Sekinchan farmers proud of their annual padi yield

The Star

By LOH FOON FONG

foonfong@thestar.com.my

Photos by AZLINA ABDULLAH

 

Local rice bowl: Sekinchan is made up of vast tracts of padi fields.

 

THE Sungai Besar parliamentary constituency is made up of padi fields and fishing villages.

In the Sekinchan and Sungai Panjang state seats — under the constituency — vast tracts of padi fields are visible, with egrets digging into the muddy ground.

Sekinchan was originally a fishing village in the 1920s. In 1953, the British segregated the villagers from the early Malayan Communist Party insurgents and sites A, B, C and Bagan were formed.

In the last decade or more, the constituency has been acknowledged for having the highest padi yield in the country.

This is the result of the farmers’ innovative spirit, diligence in adhering to standard operating procedure on land management and their use of mechanised farming methods.

At 8.5 tonne per hectare yield, it has produced an average 2.08 million tonnes of padi each year since 2006, making up almost 70% of the country’s local rice supply.

Almost half of 9,642 active farmers working on more than 19,000 ha of land in Selangor are from Sekinchan.

The area also has many orchards, with mangoes being one of the main crop, besides ciku, jambu air and jagung, which are sold at stalls lining the road leading into Sekinchan.

The Sungai Besar constituency is also known for its fishing villages — Bagan Sungai Besar and Bagan Sekinchan. With more than 2,000 fishermen in Bagan Sungai Besar and another 350 in Sekinchan, the Sungai Besar parliamentary seat has the highest number of fishermen in Selangor.

Seafood restaurants can be found everywhere and are known for their Teochew cooking style.

This is not surprising as almost all the fishermen in Bagan Sungai Besar and Sekinchan are Teochews.

Since Sekinchan has large padi fields and is near the coastal area, it is also a place for migratory birds sightings.

Sweet success: Aside from padi fields, Sungai Besar is home to many fruit orchards.

According to www.sekinchan.org, migratory birds could be sighted along Lorong 5 and Lorong 6 at Bagan Village.

Sungai Besar, the coastal town, is the centre of administration for Sabak Bernam district with many government offices and local authorities located there.

The Sungai Besar parliamentary seat (P93) falls in the Sabak Bernam district while its state seats are Sungai Panjang (N3) and Sekinchan (N4).

The Sungai Besar parliamentary seat was newly created for the 2004 general election. It was formerly a state seat, which no longer exist.

The two-term incumbent, Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister Datuk Noriah Kasnon, is said to be working hard to keep her seat.

Noriah is expected to defend her seat against a PAS condidate.

For the Sungai Panjang seat, Sungai Besar Umno Youth chief Budiman Mohd Zohdi is said to be a likely candidate.

The incumbent Dr Mohamad Khir Toyo, former Selangor Mentri Besar, was found guilty of graft in December 2011 and has been sentenced to a year’s jail.

Sungai Besar PAS chief Ustaz Mohd Fadzlin Taslimin is said to likely put up a fight for the seat again. He lost to Dr Khir in the last election by more than 5,000 votes.

For the Sekinchan seat, incumbent DAP deputy secretary for Selangor, Ng Suee Lim, who speaks fluent Javanese is popular with the Malays there, is likely to defend his seat.

The names of potential candidates from Barisan Nasional include Sungai Besar MCA division chairman Kek Seng Hooi, Sungai Besar MCA Public Complaints Bureau head Law Kok Chai and Sungai Besar MCA Youth deputy chief Pua Lai Hoon.

Village C Sekinchan farmer Ng Oon Chai, 50, said farmers in Sekinchan were very experienced and produced the highest padi yield in South-East Asia, on par with the Taiwanese and South Koreans.

He said they were also able to produce high quality fragrant rice but the main challenge was that they were not able to sell higher than the price capped by the Government at RM1.15 per kg.

“The high quality fragrant rice that we produce can fetch RM5 to RM6 a kilogramme,” said the father of five children.

Ng said the price should be left to the open market and industry monopoly should end as it stifled its potential to do better and reap higher income.

He said the Taiwanese government encourages their padi farmers to improve their skills and reap better quality yield, and this should be emulated here as well.

Meanwhile, Parit 2 Sungai Haji Dorani village head Safie Zakaria said the drainage system at his village was inadequate.

“We don’t have enough water for the padi fields, especially during dry season. If there is adequate water, the yield can be increased,” he said.

Safie said farmers also felt that the padi price set at RM1,200 per tonne was too low and hoped it could be increased to RM1,500 as the cost of managing padi fields was increasing despite government subsidy.

“The farmers prefer that the price of rice follows the open market,” he said.

He also said the amount of spoilage of 18kg out of 100kg that was removed from their payment by Bernas should be reduced to 15kg as many of them produced good quality rice.

Safie added that there was a lack of tourism promotion for his area although the potential was great. Unknown to many, fireflies can also be sighted in Sungai Panjang.

Federal village head committee (JKKKP) chairman for Bagan Sungai Besar, Chia Hiyok Cheng, said most of the fishermen in his area were categorised as Zone B fishermen.

Chia said they wanted the Government to allow them to hire foreign workers so they could expand their business.

Currently, only Zone C fishermen with boats weighing more than 40 tonnes, are allowed to hire foreign workers.

He also said the Chinese burial land in Sungai Besar was getting scarce and in need of upgrading.
Azman Mohd Hanafiah, 39, and his wife Norasyikin Kamaruzaman, 20, who operate a sugar cane stall by the roadside in Jalan Sungai Panjang, said they were contented with life there.

“We have everything here, including Chinese and Tamil schools. We have libraries, too,” said Norasyikin.

Azman, who shares a 1.2ha padi field with an aunt, said the water supply in his area was adequate but the drains were small.

His only grouses were that the roads were riddled with potholes while the nearest hospital, Hospital Sabak Bernam, lacked specialists.

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GE13: Pakatan all set for elections

The Star
(shared bylines)

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Rakyat said it was all set for the 13th general election.

DAP deputy chairman Tan Kok Wai said: “Psychologically, we have been ready for months.”

Tan, who is in the four-man committee to decide on DAP's candidates list, also said that the party will name all of those who are contesting before nomination day.

PAS vice-president Datuk Mahfuz Omar said the party had been gearing up for the dissolution over the past two years.

“The list of candidates is ready and many of the candidates are new faces,” he said, adding that PAS president Datuk Seri Abdul Hadi Awang would announce the candidates soon.

PKR vice-president Tian Chua told Bernama the dissolution was most awaited by the party.

“Right now, we are waiting for the Mentris Besar and Chief Ministers of the states under our administration to seek the consent of the Sultans and the Yang di-Pertua Negri to dissolve the state legislative assemblies,” he said.

The Opposition pact administers Kelantan, Kedah, Selangor and Penang.

Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) central committee member Dr Michael Jeyakumar Devaraj said PSM called on all political parties to refrain from divisive racial campaigning.

“We urge Malaysians to think of their children's future when casting their votes,” he said.

Dr Jeyakumar said that PSM would contest in the Sungai Siput parliament seat and the Kota Damansara, Semenyih and Jelapang state seats.

He said he would be defending his Sungai Siput seat.

Sekinchan state assemblyman Ng Suee Lim said he would be defending his seat if everything went smoothly.

“I am confident of contesting as I have worked hard and served the constituency well,” he said.

He said that the parliament seats DAP would be contesting in Selangor were Serdang, Puchong, PJ Utara and Klang.

The state seats that DAP would be contesting in Selangor are Sekinchan, Sungai Pinang,

Pandamaran, Kota Shah Alam, Teluk Datuk, Sungai Pelek, Damansara Utama, Bukit Gasing,
Kampung Tunku, Seberang Jaya, Kinrara, Teratai, Kuala Kubu Baru, Balakong and Seri Kembangan.

Selangor state exco member Elizabeth Wong said Pakatan would contest in all 56 state seats in Selangor and the division between the parties would be similar to that of the 2008 general election.

■ For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site