TANAH RATA: Traders at Kea Farm, a market that’s always abuzz with activity, were taken by surprise when they were greeted by a man in a farmer’s hat and clutching on to his cangkul (hoe).
With an affable personality like his, the man was fully engaged with groups of people as he walked from stall to stall man regularly bursting into laughter with some familiar faces and new faces he met.
The cangkul he held was not real but made out of cardboard, but it was obviously a topic for conversation with the traders who were clearly impressed that Wong Seng Yee, the independent candidate for the Cameron Highlands by-election, was using this hardy farming tool as his symbol.
Using the cangkul was his manager’s idea and synonymous with the way of life for the largely farming community surrounding the highland town of Brinchang, he said.
Then again, it shouldn’t be a surprise since Wong, 41, himself holds a Master’s Degree in Horticultural Science from the University of Nebraska-Lincoln in the United States.
“People here have an emotional attachment to the cangkul,” said Wong who is at ease with the traders as his mother-in-law Choi Yen runs a business at Kea Farm, and perhaps because of the Chinese racial factor.
Wong Siew Eng, 50, a fruit trader for the past 20 years, said she had known Wong for a long time and she wanted the new Cameron Highlands MP to be someone who could carry out their responsibilities well.
“Kea Farm needs to be beautified, have more stalls and a wider car park to cope with the big crowds,” she added.
The by-election is being held after the Election Court, on Nov 30, annulled the victory of Datuk C. Sivarraajh of the Barisan Nasional (BN) in the 14th general election (GE14) due to corrupt practices that influenced the voters.
Apart from Wong and Aminuddin Baki Institute lecturer Sallehudin Ab Talib, 61, who are both Independent candidates, the others contesting the by-election are Pahang DAP deputy chairman M. Manogaran (Pakatan Harapan) and former senior police officer Ramli Mohd Nor (Barisan Nasional).
In GE14, Sivarraajh won the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat in a five-cornered fight with 10,307 votes, beating Manogaran with 9,710 votes; Wan Mahadir Wan Mahmud (PAS / 3,587 votes); Mohd Tahir Kassim (Berjasa / 81 votes) and B. Suresh Kumar from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM / 680 votes). –BERNAMA