nst-in-the-trenches

Heck! They are still talking about Permatang Pasir, Manik Urai is still not forgotten.

But another by-election is already on the cards, this time in Bagan Pinang, Negri Sembilan.

Watch out for the news in www.nst.com.my today

Am feeling like a bachelor today. Firstly, woke up at 4am for sahur. Had to drive out to Kassim Mustafa (a Mamak shop) with my housemates, about a kilometre a

This evening, my housemates bought chicken rice for me and loads and loads of food for berbuka puasa.

They ate about 30 per cent of what they bought and the rest are still in plastic bags, untouched.

Both candidates are still actively going around meeting voters and it must be very tiring for them.

Selamat berpuasa to the readers!

Caption: A shot I took from the car park of Prangin Mall

After three days confining myself in Seberang Jaya and Permatang Pasir, it is time for me to get out of the madness and seek solace on the Island.

A leisure drive passing through the Penang bridge and after a few missed turns, I managed to get to Komtar where Prangin Mall is nearby.

No shopping but I indulged in Sushi King, after a series of Nasi Kandaq, Mee Udang and fried ikan bawal.

Met an acquaintance at KDU College for teh tarik before making my way to the ferry terminal.

It must have been more than five years since I last took the ferry ride and once the order to switch off the engine was given, almost everyone scrambled out of their cars to feel the breeze, even those driving cars with Penang plate numbers.

Caption: The writer, alone with just his N96, while waiting for the ferry

Looks like the excitement of another by-election in Penang is not shared by the rest of the state.

While juicy revelations have cropped up during the campaign, Penangites are not bothered with what is happening on the mainland.

An impromptu survey among the young and old on the Island revealed that they are either fed-up with the hosts of by-elections or think, Permatang Pasir is just another dot on the mainland.

One youngster I befriended at a Sushi King outlet in Prangin Mall looked bewildered when I told her there was another by-election.

"What? Not another one! Don't kid me as I check out the Net daily," she said.

Several ferry workers simply said "Oohhh! That election. Let them fightlah."

An elderly couple I met in the city said by-elections are just a waste of time and money.

But here in Permatang Pasir, everyone is talking about the straight fight between BN's Rohaizat Othman and Pas candidate Ustaz Salleh Man.

A few kilometres away in Seberang Jaya, life goes on for the folk here.

So, folks? Are we being fed with too many by-elections?

They may be poor but they are kind souls. We chanced upon this father of 18 while driving deep into Manik Urai Lama searching for human interest stories on Monday.

A rubber tapper who earns barely RM500 a month warmly invited us into his dilapidated house. Like any Malay house, a TV set and a radio set are a must but he admitted it was the only entertainment the family has come dusk.

His main concern is the welfare of his kids, six of them are not accepted into primary schools.

His kids were all born in Manik Urai but were deprived of basic education because their parents have no documents.

Mat Hussin is not worried about himself but wants his kids to go to school. One of them, 21-year old Ros completed secondary school but finds it difficult to get a decent job.

An extremely shy girl, Ros has a handphone to keep her company daily.

When told we were from Kuala Lumpur, Mat Hussin called his wife to prepare coffee and despite a polite no, he called his children to bring in durians.

Durians are aplenty and even their cats eat durians. 

As we ate, his two children went to a nearby orchard to collect mangosteen for us to take back to the hotel.

Ros, the extremely shy girl of Kampung Mesek with the writer

The durian eating cat

We have been hearing sirens wailing from ambulances daily since we arrived in Kuala Krai last Sunday.

Last night however, we witnessed an accident which killed three while having dinner at a seafood restaurant in the district.

A car driven by a man with two occupants lost control and rammed into a tree beneath the railway track.

We rushed to the scene to see a mangled body of a man on top of a woman who was groaning in pain.

Another man, presumably the driver, was pin in the wreckage and after about 10 minutes was jolting furiously.

Several calls were made to 999 and soon an ambulance arrived to rescue the woman.

At the same time, an elderly woman arrived at the scene and was wailing when she saw the lifeless body of a man whom she called Ah Boy.

The place was crowded but no one dared touch anything as we could aggravate injuries suffered by the victims.

Shuhada insisted we lent a helping hand to the badly injured woman but we could just look.

We later learned that the three had just returned from a wedding in Kuala Krai town and the driver had too much liquor.

We returned to the restaurant but no one touched the food.

The roads in the area receive a sudden surge of traffic and this contribute to the increasing number of accidents.

Traffic policemen are everywhere but they could only watch as villagers nonchalantly riding motorcycles with three or four pillion riders.

No one wears safety belt here. Hopefully, things will return to normal once the by-election is over.

Loss of lives are not just worth it.

Lots of cars, but where are the people? On a hot lazy afternoon, most of them prefer to stay in

Wooden shops sandwiched between brick buildings along Jalan Ah Sang, the main road of Kuala Krai town

Kuala Krai's pride: One of the supermarkets frequented by locals

Signs of development...a shop is being renovated to keep up with the times

More shops are being built. For the future?

And yet some are worried there might not be Wifi or 3G services in town...

Pix by Badrolhisham Bidin

Eat all you want...for free!

In Manik Urai? It is not a political gimmick but a stall owner in  Chuchur Puteri in the constituency made a pact with a wealthy businessman, Wan Zaid Wan Abdullah to provide free food and drinks.

On top of that, the owner of Zaibi Motor in Jalan Maarof, Bangsar also gives away free Berita Harian, Harian Metro and New Straits Times daily.

Everyone is welcome. Regardless of your political beliefs, no one will be turned away.

The stall owner, Cha Ha Awang, says the tycoon has agreed to pay him on a daily basis until July 14 for food and drinks consumed.

"He told me not to hike up prices and never to turn away anyone," says Cha Ha who hires three extra pairs of hands just for the period.

As a result, his stall which is popular for daging kawah, is a hit among KLites, locals and policemen making a beeline from morning till late night.

"Datuk Wan built the stall and allowed me to run a food business five years ago," he says.

Wan Zaid lost three times to Pas in 1986, 1990 and 1995 elections but does not stop him from helping the villagers.

The mosque which he named after his wife Samihah is well maintained and include a quarters for a full time Imam.

The Iman is paid an allowance together with a Tok Siak.

"It is for the villagers and travellers on their way to Gua Musang. The mosque complex has a well-maintained toilet.

Cha Ha's daily income has increased from a few hundred Ringgit to almost 2K daily.

But does that not stop the villagers from opening up stalls in front of their homes to cash in on the by-election!

The mere mention of Manik Urai attracted comments like "if you love your car, don't drive there" etc.

Horror stories like pothole-riddled roads everywhere prevented many first time visitors like me to drive and instead took a flight to Kota Baru.

But, the truth is, Manik Urai is a heavenly place, a small village with wooden houses and a few brick bungalows lining up the zig-zagging lanes.

And it is not the only village in the constituency. Villagers from several other kampungs around Manik Urai are also voters for the July 14 by-election.

Our motel, located along the Gua Musang highway, is hidden behind a furniture shop and a workshop.

A Kopitiam, run by the motel owners, serve the guests well. Prices are reasonable and the food is not as sweet as other Kelantanese fare.

Shuhada and I took a leisure drive along the road and found a stall selling tasty sotong bakar and other seafood.

The operator, a Perakian married to a local, speaks with heavy Kelantanese dialect.

She admits the stall is actually open just for the election period and according to her, is a hit among KLites, making their way from Cameron Highlands and Gua Musang.

Kuala Krai town is a little bigger than Tangkak in Johor and smaller than Muar (the towns I am familiar with).

Although, many of them have not heard of a laundry shop, a sweet Chinese owner of a shop selling shoes and clothings said there is a KFC outlet further up.

We have yet to check it out but we saw an outlet which says SFC Fried Chicken near the nomination centre this morning. Hope that's  not the one.

We haven't really explore the area yet but will do so in the next few days.

So, please. When someone talks about a place, ask him/her if he/she had gone there recently.