Residents of Pulau Perhentian pledge support for BN

BESUT: The pricking heat did not deter Tengku Zaihan Che Ku Rahman, the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate for the Kuala Besut state seat, from boarding a boat for the 30-minute ride across the choppy sea to meet voters on Pulau Perhentian yesterday.
With only three days to polling, he is squeezing time, if possible to meet all the people in the Kuala Besut constituency, including about 2,000 residents on the resort island, where 817 of them are registered, voters.
He was given a grand welcome by residents there, as if giving a sign that they are with him, refuting an allegation that the voters on the resort island are shifting towards the opposition, following failure by the government to complete construction of 200 affordable houses on the island that was promised in 2013.
A tour guide, Mohd A Hamid, 58, said although he was disappointed that the houses were not ready, it would not cause the people on the island to support the opposition.
"We understand that it was due to technical problems, and it so happened that out of the tens of development projects implemented by BN in Pulau Perhentian, only the flat housing project is not ready," he said.
A resident on Pulau Perhentian, A Karim Harith, 67, said BN had contributed a lot for the people on the island and did not think that just because of the housing project could not be ready in the time it would eliminate all the good that the coalition had done for them.
He said the BN had built more than 100 houses in the 1980s and given free to the original residents on the island.
"After that, Pulau Perhentian began to be developed as a tourist destination in the country and it has brought positive impact on the socio-economy of the people," he said.
A fisherman, Abdullah Mokhtar, 46, said residents on Pulau Perhentian had benefited from various development projects implemented by the BN government, such as health clinic, police station, fire and rescue station, mosque and school, as well as water and electricity supply.
"The continuous arrival of tourists to the island is also because of the promotion carried out by BN where residents benefit economically and through job opportunities in the hotel sector.
"We will continue to support BN because we do not want to sacrifice the future of our children and grand children," he said.
There are currently 48 hotels on the island which recorded 160,000 tourist arrivals last year.
Meanwhile, Tengku Zaihan said the government had terminated the contract of the developer tasked with building the affordable home and a new site had been identified in Teluk Dalam for the project.
Tengku Zaihan, who is the deputy chairman of the State Tourism and Culture Committee, won the Kuala Besut state seat in a by-election which was held in June 2013 following the death of its incumbent assemblyman Dr A Rahman Mokhtar.
He secured 8,288 votes against PAS' Azlan Yusof, who obtained 5,696 votes.
In GE14, Tengku Zaihan will be in a three-cornered fight for the seat, involving Azbi Salleh (PAS) and Che Ku Hashim Che Ku Mat (PKR-PPBM). — Bernama