Fierce campaigning hits Wangsa Maju

Riding on the sincerity of the motto is the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for Wangsa Maju Datuk Shafei Abdullah who repeats the line relentlessly to the people that he meets.

Notably, the laidback Shafei holds firm by his motto regardless of the number of people who turns up for his daily ceramah sessions in the constituency.

“My motto is from the rakyat to the rakyat. I am also a normal rakyat like all of you. I will try to help you as much as possible. Please vote for me,” he appealed to an odd number of Indians who turned up at the SMK Wangsa Maju Seksyen 2 to gauge the strength of their next possible leader.

The response that the Umno Wangsa Maju division chief received from the crowd was not desirable but that did not stop him from greeting them in Tamil, albeit mispronouncing some words.

‘Manakam’, he said, instead of ‘Vanakam’, inviting embarrassed laughs from the crowd. It was effort nonetheless.

Almost immediately, the Tamil song ‘Antha Vanatha Pole’ from the movie ‘Chinna Koundar’ played in the background indicating that Shafei is seen as a local hero especially among the Indian community there.

Shafei, in a press conference later said among his manifesto for Wangsa Maju include shifting the Danau Kota uptown near the Road Transport Department (RTD), a move that has already gotten the approval from the City Hall.

“If I win, I would also upgrade Pasar Gombak and build a 1Malaysia Complex here. Another issue that I would work on is to ensure there are sufficient childcare centres in the area,” he said.

N. Sivalingam, a Wangsa Maju local who had been staying there for the past 12 years said Shafei is the kind of leader that he would like to see in the area.

“I never supported the party. I am the kind of person who sees the true quality of a candidate before throwing my support behind that person.

“Shafei has been in and out of Wangsa Maju almost every day, way before he was nominated as a candidate. He has attended to our needs selflessly.

“I have a disabled son and Shafei helped me to obtain assistance and a wheelchair for him, when even the Social Welfare Department (JKM) dismissed his needs” said the 42-year-old.

Meanwhile, MIC Wangsa Maju division chairman S. Mohan said Shafei has been attending to the need of the Wangsa Maju people for the past four years.

“We do not have a proper hall here to hold any functions. Shafei ensured that that we have one hall that can fit 300 people at one time here.

“He had helped to repair about 15 old houses in Kampung Sungai Merali. We believe that he will continue to address the needs of the people here,” he said.

First time voter Tamil Selvi Karupannan however, begs to differ. Tamil Selvi said she views Shafei as just a BN candidate who is yet to impress her to win her vote.

“I am still reviewing both Shafei and PKR candidate Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong to gauge how far they will go to help the people, before deciding on who to vote,” she said.

Meanwhile, Shafei’s rival former Land and Co-operative Development Deputy Minister Dr Tan has also been going around to woo Wangsa Maju voters, in his simple and straightforward style.

He was well-received by the crowd when he made his rounds in the Taman Melati night market, distributing pamphlets and PKR flags.

The crowd even shouted, ‘Ini kali lah!’, indicating their support for him.

“Security in this area is very bad. I would like to work on the security aspects here if I win. I would also work to maintain the harmonious spirit here.

“If we form the government, we will also ensure a truly free press. That means, if we did anything wrong, the press is free to criticise us,” said Dr Tan in the midst of campaigning.

A Wangsa Maju resident for the past eight years, Zuraidah Md Kamsan, 41, said the area need more than public safety.

“We need more amenities in this area. Yes, we have almost everything, but some little tweaks here and there would be nice. I would be voting for someone who can implement these,” he said.

Another resident Zaharudin Omar, 67, said he does not want a candidate who is not loyal to his party.

“In the 2008 general election, we voted in Wee Choo Keong from PKR and then he decided to go and become an independant. We don’t want this kind of leader. We want a leader who will help the people while being loyal to the party. Dr Tan is one such person,” he said.

Wee, a former DAP member and Bukit Bintang MP, contested under the PKR ticket in the 2008 general election.

He won Wangsa Maju with a slim majority of 150 votes, defeating MCA’s Yew Teong Look. He joined PKR about a year after winning the seat in 2008.

He declared himself as an independent in 2010 citing the sandmining scandal involving Selangor government-owned Kumpulan Semesta Sdn Bhd (KSSB) as ‘the last straw’.

Wangsa Maju is a township which was formed in 1984 and is one of the largest townships in Kuala Lumpur.

With various amenities such as colleges, shopping complexes and LRT stations, the town is in a constant flurry of activities and does not seem to go to sleep.

Among the notable points of interest in Wangsa Maju Tunku Abdul Rahman college and Jaya Jusco.