Limited opportunities have forced Indian youths in Kampung Guntong, Kerdau, to move to other states to eke a living.
Like children of his age, he spends time cycling with friends after school and, when he gets hungry, he goes to his home in Kampung Guntong in front of the railway track in the Kerdau state constituency to have his meal.
The Standard One pupil of Sekolah Rendah Jenis Kebangsaan (Tamil) Ladang Bee Yong is a happy kid, unaware of the pains his parents, school gardener father S Poobalan, 32, and housewife C Yasotha, 31, endure to raise the family of four children with a meagre monthly income of RM600.
“Although the income is small, we are grateful that we can live comfortably,” said Poobalan.
Kampung Guntong is on the outskirts of Kerdau town, but the 33 families who live in semi-concrete houses have electricity and water supply, a school with 13 teachers and a community hall for gatherings.
A welcome news in the address made by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in Kerdau town last Sunday was the allocation of RM200,000 for a Hindu temple in the village.
Poobalan said he hoped that the development by the Barisan Nasional (BN) government would continue, particularly in the industrial sector, to provide more jobs.
Many of the youths in the village had moved to other states in search of employment owing to limited opportunities locally, he said.
“Perhaps, it may be too late for me to enjoy a better life. Furthermore, I am not highly educated. I am only concerned about the future of my children.
“I do not think PAS, DAP or PKR can ensure a better future for them,” said Poobalan who has decided to stay put in the village because of his mother who suffers from a thyroid disease.
Fellow villager K Baskaran, 34, said he hoped that the government would consider the application of the villagers for titles to the land they had been occupying for more than 30 years.
He said the villagers had raised the matter with the former assemblyman, Zaharuddin Abu Kassim, who died on Feb 12, necessitating the Kerdau by-election, polling for which is on Sunday.
The by-election is a straight fight between Syed Ibrahim Syed Ahmad of the BN and Hassanuddin Salim of PAS, with the outcome to be decided by the 8,999 voters, 298 of whom are Indians.
“PAS campaign workers had conducted a house-to-house visit and distributed leaflets on the ‘Interlok’ novel and Hindraf issues but, when asked about the land titles, they preferred to remain silent,” Baskaran said.
Meanwhile, Bernama reported that Kuala Krau MIC division chairman M Murugiah as saying that MIC campaign workers had gone from house-to-house to explain the issues raised by the opposition parties.
“The voters cannot be easily swayed by the opposition propaganda because they know that only the BN government can transform their lives for the better,” he said.
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