GE13: Put a stop to the mudslinging

A politically savvy lot, folks in Terengganu want the coming general election to be a clean game.

Kampung folk are largely influenced by what they see and hear on TV and read in the mainstream Malay newspapers, he adds. But youngsters like him, with their smart phones and laptops, scroll the Internet looking for alternative views so they have a good idea of what’s going on.

Shahanaz Habib, The Star

ROSNAH Sibaweh loves to challenge her six children. If they want a new mobile phone or the latest gadget, she will dangle that as a reward if they achieve a target or goal.

“If you get something for free, you don’t value it. But if you work for it, you’ll value it,” says the 46-year-old unit trust consultant who is a single mother with three school-going children and another three in university.

For her, it is the same with university education.

A private college she knows gives full scholarships to the children of Felda settlers but because everything is free, these students do not even need good grades to keep their scholarships. As a result, they have become quite “spoiled” and don’t focus on their studies.

She thinks this applies to public universities too.

Rosnah feels the government should continue to subsidise university education with parents, except those who are poor, paying a portion of the fees.

“If you pay for something, you’ll appreciate it more. Sometimes, our people rely too much on the government,” says Rosnah who, with fellow financial consultant friends in Kuala Terengganu, is discussing and strategising on how to make more money, gain financial freedom and retire young.

As a financial planner, she thinks people should take their own initiative – have their own education and retirement plans – instead of leaving it all to the government.

“We shouldn’t rely on Mara and the PTPTN loans for education anymore because no one wants to pay the money back. It’s pathetic. What happens to the next generation if people are not repaying their loans? Where is the government going to get the money to give out new loans?”

Two of her children at university have managed to secure student loans but her third, who is studying architecture, has not. Rosnah, who has been funding her 100%, says it hasn’t been cheap.

“Her books are RM200 each. She’s only in her first semester and I’ve already spent RM4,000 on fees, hostel accommodation, books and food.

“And she hasn’t even bought her laptop yet! That’s why we are here discussing how to make more money,” she says.

Rosnah’s generation is one that used to skimp and save to buy things, so they treasure whatever they managed to buy.

“But kids these days tell us ‘last time you had no money, that’s why you had to do that!’ But that is what built our character and made us who we are today,” she says.

Her friend Nor Fazila Abdullah, 43, considers herself a “sporting” mother and gives her children about 80% of whatever they ask for.

“They normally ask for gadgets, mobile phones or money. I don’t mind giving them all that because I hope they will remember my kindness and give back to me when I am old,” she says.

As a financial planner, Fazila has also been putting aside money each month for her children’s education plan.

Both women follow the country’s political developments and are not happy with what they see.

Rosnah thinks the situation is “not healthy” because both sides of the political divide keep condemning the other.

“As the rakyat, we see the political parties as our parents. When parents fight, the effect is on us.”

“And if a child chooses one parent over the other, he is seen as a ‘betrayer’ and undeserving of the other parent’s care and help. Why?”

Their other friend, Jamal Hj No, doesn’t care who leads the country as long as it is peaceful and people are free to go anywhere they want.

The trainer, 55, is optimistic about Malaysia but admits the mudslinging has got him a bit worried.

“The politicians keep blaming each other. Make it a clean game. The rakyat can think so don’t confuse us. Focus on winning the game rather than criticising each other.

“You can’t stab the other to be a great leader,” he says.

But many others in Terengganu are not quite as privileged as Rosnah and her friends, and they worry about their daily lives.

At the famous Pasar Payang, keropok seller Adnan (not his real name) and wife are feeling frustrated.

The state government plans to turn the market where they have a stall into a state-of-the-art air-conditioned building with a five-star hotel above it.

“Our customers are kampung folks, not tourists. The makcik makcik and kampung people will not feel comfortable shopping for vegetables, fruits and keropok in an air-conditioned market.

“And what about prices? If they build a new market, our rent will surely go up and we will have to increase prices. Then our business will suffer because kampung folks will no longer shop here. Why doesn’t the government consider this,” says Adnan who currently rents a spot for only RM50 a month.

He is also upset that the state government acquired his house and land in town for RM70,000. The amount, he laments, is not enough for him to buy another house at a similar location. He is now renting a low-cost unit for RM300 a month.

Adnan says large areas of land in town are being acquired by the government for development. In places like Kampung Ladang and Lorong Jamil, the Malay residents have to move further away because they can’t afford to buy new houses that have been built there.

“The Malays are not like the Chinese who will buy houses even if they are expensive. The Malays here are afraid to pay RM250,000 for a house,” he says.

Adnan feels the state government is not listening. “Why do they want to build a duty-free area on an uninhabited island in Kenyir?” he wonders.

“Locals won’t go. I don’t know if tourists will even go. There’s no one living on the island.

“For something like this to work, there has to be a local population on the island, like Langkawi. It’s ridiculous and wasteful.”

Politically savvy

Adnan says the people in Terengganu are politically savvy, “If they are not comfortable with what’s going on, they will change the government.”

Changing governments is not new to Terengganu. In 1959, the people in the state voted in a PAS government. Then they switched to Perikatan (Alliance Party) and Barisan in the subsequent elections before picking PAS again in 1999 and shifting back to Barisan in 2004 and 2008.

Suhel Kassim owns and runs a business in Kampung Cina near the Pasar Payang market.

He says before the state government could acquire their land for development, the Chinese community quickly applied for and received Unesco heritage status for Kampung Cina which means their land was spared. So Kampung Cina is now spruced up and looks as charming as Malacca’s Jonker Street.

Suhel feels for the traders at Pasar Payang and understands their anger. He says they’ve been doing business there for ages and had already taken a hit when bigger supermarkets opened up in the state.

Property prices have shot up around the town with houses now selling for RM400,000 and shoplots going for RM1.6mil to RM2mil, which the Malays can’t afford.

He says there are many grouses over the low compensation given by the state government when they acquired the people’s land. (The Auditor-General’s Report 2011 found that the Kuala Terengganu Land Office paid less in compensation for land acquired by the state government than the official valuation made by the state Asset Valuation and Services Department in a number of places.)

Noor (not her real name) feels sad that the town’s heritage is diminishing in the name of deve­lopment.

“Foreigners come to Terengganu to see something authentic like Pasar Payang. It’s a selling point for tourism. Why change something that is unique?”

Kampung Ladang, she says, is famous for its copper industry and was even featured in a National Geographic documentary. But that too is gone as the land has been acquired for development.

“Soon, nothing of the old will be left. They want to change everything, even what is unique and special about the place,” she says nostalgically.

Cheong, 70, is having bah kut teh with two friends, Edward, 37 and Swee, 30. All three are in business and often meet up for drinks.

They are happy living in Terengganu, have lots of Malay friends and think it is easier to mix around here because it is less pretentious compared to big cities.

“People don’t care who you are. They mix with everyone,” says Cheong.

As there is no entertainment – no cinema, pub or karaoke – in the state, “we make our own entertainment”, says Cheong.

Calling himself a “junior businessman” who is still green and learning on the job, Swee believes 80% of Chinese living in Terengganu are rich because they have nowhere to spend their money.

That is a good thing since property prices are on the high side here.

“A double-storey link house costs more than RM500,000 because there is a shortage of non-reserve Malay land. I imagine houses would be cheaper on Malay reserve land,” says Cheong.

Having lived under both the PAS and Barisan government in Terengganu, Cheong doesn’t find much difference between the two because “businesses like ours don’t depend on the government to survive.”

In Setiu, Mohd Rizal Faizul, 26, works in a restaurant and earns RM30 a day. He worries about when he gets married and has a family.

“I want to start my own warung but that would require capital. If my bank statement is not strong, banks won’t give me a loan,” he says.

Rizal is not comfortable discussing politics because “there are things right and wrong on both sides”.

He says politics in the kampung is very different from politics in the towns.

“Here, people get emotional and some go overboard. There are some who won’t speak to others from the other side.”

Kampung folk are largely influenced by what they see and hear on TV and read in the mainstream Malay newspapers, he adds.

But youngsters like him, with their smart phones and laptops, scroll the Internet looking for alternative views so they have a good idea of what’s going on.

In Besut, Halim Harun, 43, mixes with different groups of people, including Chinese and Thais. He thinks the young generation is so different from during his time.

“When we first started to work, we’d wait two years before we bought a car and that first car might even be secondhand. And we’d wait five years before we could buy a house.

“But these days, our youths want to buy a car and house once they start working. And when they can’t, the easiest thing to do is to blame the government,” he says.

Corruption is not the monopoly of any particular party, he argues, adding that a lot depends on the strength and character of the individual because “when you are in power, it is not so easy to stay honest.”