CORRUPTION & RACISM SHOCKERS IN ROMPIN: 'Orang Asli land sold to Chinese businessmen'

Illegal logging, land clearing and the invasion of Orang Asli land in Rompin are not new issues.

These issues have been brought up by PAS each time there was an election there.

Rompin PAS Ulamak Shukri Ahmad said the upcoming by-election was no different and PAS would champion the same issues.

Shukri, who had contested the seat before, told The Rakyat Post that the other thing they would bring up this time was the Goods and Services Tax (GST).

He said the Bukit Ibam and Tioman state seats were the two that had been badly affected since BN took over the Rompin parliamentary seat.

“This was due to the land clearing that was not controlled by the state government.

“Bukit Ibam and many other Orang Asli places have been turned into settlements, with the land later sold to Chinese businessmen.

“The Pahang state government should use the power that it has to make sure that their land does not change hands.”

He alleged that it was so bad that even settlers from other states had come to Rompin to clear land for logging and planting oil palm up to 100-200 acres.

“The only development here for the past five terms is at Tioman, compared with Muadzam and Batu Ibam.

“There was no denying that this is a BN stronghold, but the development here has only been at one place.”

He said he did not see the resources of the three state seats being properly used.

“There are still many cowboy towns here and still old shops, especially in Kelebang.

“There are no job opportunities for the youths.

“Before this, there was a wood factory, but even that closed down.”

He said in this by-election, voters had the opportunity to give PAS a chance without really damaging the BN stronghold there.

“If one parliamentary seat goes to PAS, it does not mean the BN government will fall.

“We hope that national and local issues that are happening now can make the voters realise the need for change and that starts with voting PAS in to bring the voice of Rompin folk to Parliament.”

Following the death of former special envoy to the United States and Rompin Member of Parliament Tan Sri Jamaluddin Jarjis in a helicopter crash on April 4, a by-election was called for Rompin.

Having held the seat since 1990, Rompin has been Barisan Nasional’s (BN) stronghold. It saw Jamaluddin recording an increased majority of 4,435 votes in the last general election compared with the previous one in 2008.

In 2013, Jamaluddin defeated PAS’ candidate Nuridah Mohd Salleh with a 15,114-vote majority. - The Rakyat Post