BENTONG: Surrounded by oil palm and rubber plantations and dense forest, Simpang Pelangai is a "cowboy town" on the outer fringes of Pahang.
The sleepy small town appears to have been left behind in the country's march towards development, largely due to its remote location but things could change in the next few weeks.
The Pelangai state seat by-election has been set with the nomination of candidates on Sept 23 followed by early voting on Oct 3 and polling day on Oct 7.
Felda Chemomoi settler Rafiudin Abdul Karim, 57, described Pelangai as the furthest among the four state seats under the Bentong parliamentary constituency, which is about 63km from Bentong town and borders Jelebu, Negri Sembilan.
He said the Pelangai constituency can be reached through Karak which is located about 43km away, is situated 35km from Triang(Bera) through Felda Bukit Mendi and less than 10km from Simpang Durian, Jelebu in Negeri Sembilan.
"If you ask the Felda settlers and villagers here, some prefer to buy their groceries in Simpang Durian, Triang or Seri Jempol (Negri Sembilan) rather than travelling along the winding trunk road to Karak town. There are convenience stores and a patrol station in Simpang Durian.
"There were talks to expand the Central Spine Road(CSR) project beyond Bentong to connect Kuala Pilah in Negri Sembilan but nothing has materialised. This is among the projects which were vocally raised by both the previous assemblymen (Tan Sri Adnan Yaakob and the late Datuk Seri Johari Harun)," he said, adding the by-election 'promises' more developments for the constituency.
He said for those living in Manchis and Telemong found it much easier to travel to Karak town to do their shopping but driving along the narrow stretch or trailing a heavy vehicle especially at night would be time-consuming.
The Pelangai state seat fell vacant following the death of its first-term assemblyman, Johari, in an aircraft crash in Bandar Elmina, Shah Alam, on Aug 17.
In the 15th general election (GE15), Johari won the Pelangai state seat in a four-cornered battle. The Bentong Umno division chief won by a 4,048 majority after securing 7,308 votes.
Kampung Sungai Perdak villager Thu Yin Li said she expects the narrow single carriageway passing through the constituency to be choked with traffic during the by-election campaign.
"The road connecting Karak in Pahang and Kuala Pilah in Negri Sembilan passes through several villages and estates in the Pelangai constituency, and there is usually less traffic except during the festive season, fruit season and weekends.
We can certainly see more vehicles on the road during the by-election....even now people have started visiting the constituency," she said when contacted.
Plantation worker R. Samy, 60 , said most of the young people have left Pelangai to find jobs elsewhere as there are not many job opportunities and some have even moved to bigger towns, bringing their parents along.
"Youths have moved to work in Temerloh, Kuala Lumpur and Singapore. The constituency seems to be lacking in terms of development but for us the elderly, we enjoy the easy-going lifestyle....lets see what changes the by-election can bring to Pelangai," he said.
Meanwhile, Simpang Pelangai Wanita Umno chief Norhaida Udin said Malay voters made up more than 60 per cent of the 16, 475 registered voters in the constituency with some 2,990 Chinese and 942 Indian voters till May this year.
"Majority of the Malay voters live in Felda schemes namely Felda Chemomoi, Kemahal and Kemasul while the rest are in traditional Malay villages in the vicinity.
The Chinese are mostly at the new villages located in Manchis and Telemong while some of the Indian voters are in the estates including Renjok and Tuan," she said, adding there were also Orang Asli voters in Kampung Sungai Gapoi near here.
Former Pahang menteri besar Adnan served as the Pelangai assemblyman for eight terms before he quit politics last year. He was replaced by Johari in GE15.
Adnan was picked to contest the Pelangai state seat in 1986. He was appointed menteri besar in 1999, replacing Tun Khalil Yaakob.
His successor Johari was a corporate figure who rose up the ranks in politics and not only became the Pelangai elected representative but also Pahang executive council member in charge of local government, housing, environment, and green technology.
He served as the Bentong Umno division youth chief between 2008 and 2013 before becoming the Bentong Umno division chief in March this year.