Emotions run high at pre-polls deaths
Nigel AwPublished: May 4, 2013 4:29 PM | Updated: May 4, 2013 7:56 PM
JOHOR In small towns such as Labis and Segamat, any death in the community could cause anger to mount and even spill over in the highly-charged political atmosphere.
JOHOR
Two deaths, one in a robbery and another, in an accident, result in a spillover effect which may influence the candidate's chances tomorrow.
JOHOR In small towns such as Labis and Segamat, any death in the community could cause anger to mount and even spill over in the highly-charged political atmosphere.
It was such a case in Labis yesterday. When a mining company's lorry ran over a 19-year-old Indian youth on a motorcycle in Chaah, the villagers there set the lorry on fire out of anger.
"The anger was a combination of the fact that police took three hours to remove the body from the scene as well as the track record of this company's lorries that have been involved in several accidents in the past with no action taken.
"The authorities came to express sympathy, but what use is sympathy when no action had been taken against this company," said DAP's Labis candidate S Ramakrishnan, who visited the family's home today with DAP's Bekok candidate Lim Eng Guan.
The boy's 47-year-old father was in tears as he told Ramakrishnan (left, in photo) that he had rushed home from Singapore, where he worked, upon hearing the devastating news concerning his eldest of three children.
The boy's teary grandmother held Ramakrishnan's hands as they conversed in Tamil (above).
"The locals say this is the 13th such case... I promised the family that if Pakatan comes to power we will take immediate action against the company," said Ramakrishnan.
With emotions and anger running high and less than 24 hours to polling day, the unforeseen incident could possibly hurt BN incumbent Chua Tee Yong, whose constituency has the largest Indian population in Johor.
Small town shaken by murder
Meanwhile in Segamat earlier this week, a grandfather was ambushed by four men who assaulted him and burgled the house. The man had opened the house gates after a woman pleaded for milk powder for her child.
The victim passed away in hospital two days later, and his 20-year-old granddaughter Cheng Yin Enr took up his cause on a DAP ceramah stage.
"I do not side with any political party... but did my grandfather not die needlessly?" she said.
An emotional Cheng told the 5,000-strong crowd that the village had contacted BN's Jementah state seat incumbent and candidate Dr Lee Hong Tee (left, in photo) for help, but was told since the former’s family was under a different constituency (Sekijang), they could not be helped.
The town is divided in the middle by two parliamentary constituencies, namely Segamat and Sekijang, with Jementah falling under the Segamat parliamentary constituency.
Cheng later clarified that the call was not to Lee personally, but to his service centre, which gave such a reply, but the damage was already done.
"I had no idea about it until I read it in the newspapers, so I visited the family yesterday evening and they explained all they wanted to do was to highlight the issue of crime,” Lee told Malaysiakini when contacted.
"It is DAP which had manipulated them. It is aimed at smearing me in this late minute of campaigning."
'Anti-crime catalyst'
But clearing the air over misunderstanding did not result in the matter subsiding, with anti-crime banners going up at the funeral parlour yesterday night as Cheng made an emotional plea to the local villagers gathered there.
"I hope that my grandfather's precious life can help awaken people about our security," she said.
While this village may be within the Sekijang parliamentary constituency, considered a BN-safe seat, its proximity to the parliamentary of Segamat and the town's overlap could potentially have a spillover effect as news about the incident were splashed in the local Chinese dailies.
Segamat is being contested between BN's incumbent S Subramaniam and PKR's Chua Jui Meng (right).
Lee himself is feeling the pressure as he shed tears at a dinner last night after having to face yet another last-minute allegation of misappropriation at a local dialysis centre.
"I am a doctor at the centre on a voluntary basis to serve the people but every election this is brought up to attack me. All these attacks are coming up at the very last minute," said a frustrated Lee.
One day is a long time in politics, and emotional incidences such as these could potentially be a factor in the general election tomorrow.
It was such a case in Labis yesterday. When a mining company's lorry ran over a 19-year-old Indian youth on a motorcycle in Chaah, the villagers there set the lorry on fire out of anger.
"The anger was a combination of the fact that police took three hours to remove the body from the scene as well as the track record of this company's lorries that have been involved in several accidents in the past with no action taken.
"The authorities came to express sympathy, but what use is sympathy when no action had been taken against this company," said DAP's Labis candidate S Ramakrishnan, who visited the family's home today with DAP's Bekok candidate Lim Eng Guan.
The boy's 47-year-old father was in tears as he told Ramakrishnan (left, in photo) that he had rushed home from Singapore, where he worked, upon hearing the devastating news concerning his eldest of three children.The boy's teary grandmother held Ramakrishnan's hands as they conversed in Tamil (above).
"The locals say this is the 13th such case... I promised the family that if Pakatan comes to power we will take immediate action against the company," said Ramakrishnan.
With emotions and anger running high and less than 24 hours to polling day, the unforeseen incident could possibly hurt BN incumbent Chua Tee Yong, whose constituency has the largest Indian population in Johor.
Small town shaken by murder
Meanwhile in Segamat earlier this week, a grandfather was ambushed by four men who assaulted him and burgled the house. The man had opened the house gates after a woman pleaded for milk powder for her child.
The victim passed away in hospital two days later, and his 20-year-old granddaughter Cheng Yin Enr took up his cause on a DAP ceramah stage.
"I do not side with any political party... but did my grandfather not die needlessly?" she said.
An emotional Cheng told the 5,000-strong crowd that the village had contacted BN's Jementah state seat incumbent and candidate Dr Lee Hong Tee (left, in photo) for help, but was told since the former’s family was under a different constituency (Sekijang), they could not be helped.The town is divided in the middle by two parliamentary constituencies, namely Segamat and Sekijang, with Jementah falling under the Segamat parliamentary constituency.
Cheng later clarified that the call was not to Lee personally, but to his service centre, which gave such a reply, but the damage was already done.
"I had no idea about it until I read it in the newspapers, so I visited the family yesterday evening and they explained all they wanted to do was to highlight the issue of crime,” Lee told Malaysiakini when contacted.
"It is DAP which had manipulated them. It is aimed at smearing me in this late minute of campaigning."
'Anti-crime catalyst'
But clearing the air over misunderstanding did not result in the matter subsiding, with anti-crime banners going up at the funeral parlour yesterday night as Cheng made an emotional plea to the local villagers gathered there.
"I hope that my grandfather's precious life can help awaken people about our security," she said.
While this village may be within the Sekijang parliamentary constituency, considered a BN-safe seat, its proximity to the parliamentary of Segamat and the town's overlap could potentially have a spillover effect as news about the incident were splashed in the local Chinese dailies.Segamat is being contested between BN's incumbent S Subramaniam and PKR's Chua Jui Meng (right).
Lee himself is feeling the pressure as he shed tears at a dinner last night after having to face yet another last-minute allegation of misappropriation at a local dialysis centre.
"I am a doctor at the centre on a voluntary basis to serve the people but every election this is brought up to attack me. All these attacks are coming up at the very last minute," said a frustrated Lee.
One day is a long time in politics, and emotional incidences such as these could potentially be a factor in the general election tomorrow.
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