The issue of connectivity is affecting those who have to work out of town

By FARA AISYAH / Pic By TMR

Kuala Selangor has been a Barisan Nasional (BN) stronghold since the first general election (GE1) in the Parliament of the Federation of Malaya.

However, in 2008, Opposition candidate Dr Dzulkefly Ahmad caused an upset with his victory in GE12.

Dr Dzulkefly lost the seat by a marginal 460 votes against Datuk Seri Dr Irmohizam Ibrahim in 2013 (GE13).

Despite the change in representatives, the wishes of the youths in Kuala Selangor remain clear — to have better connectivity within Kuala Selangor, and to other major districts and cities.

The issue of connectivity, according to youths, is affecting those who have to work out of town, as well as those working from home.

Nurul Shuhadah Yahya, 26, is currently working in Kuala Lumpur (KL) and renting a room in Shah Alam, Selangor.

“There is no job opportunity for an engineering graduate in Kuala Selangor. That is why I looked for jobs in cities like Petaling Jaya and KL.

“I decided to rent a room because KL is far from Kuala Selangor. Comparing the cost of driving and renting, I prefer the latter because it is cheaper,” she told The Malaysian Reserve (TMR).

Due to transportation problems, she can only afford to go back home twice a month.

“Although the distance between KL and Kuala Selangor is not that far, it takes hours for me to reach home if I use public transport,” she added.

To go to her hometown in Jeram, she either needs to take a bus or the mass rapid transit (MRT) to the Sungai Buloh station.

The first choice is to take a bus from Shah Alam to Klang, then another bus to Pekan Sungai Buloh. There is also a bus from Shah Alam that will stop at Puncak Perdana.

The second choice is to use the MRT to go to the Sungai Buloh station, then take a bus to Puncak Alam, or Ijok.

“Most of the time I just use Grab to go to Puncak Alam from Shah Alam, which will cost me RM40 per ride,” she said.

Syazwani Izzati Mohd Said, who is also in her 20s, said the bad road conditions is one of the main difficulties she has to face in her daily commute.

“The condition of the roads in Kuala Selangor is bad, they are uneven with a lot of potholes. They are ruining car tyres and we need to spend more money for the maintenance.

“We also desperately need better public transportation such as train services, as the traffic is quite bad here during peak hours,” she told TMR.

The mother of a one-year-old is a diploma graduate, but is currently working as an assistant manager at a mini-market in Kuala Selangor as she does not have the privileges to travel out of town for work.

“I don’t have my own transportation to work far. Even if I did, the travelling cost would be too expensive for me,” she added.

Apart from infrastructure, youths are also experiencing poor network connectivity as many are residing in villages far from the town.

Internet connection has become a staple that a society cannot function without — and particularly youths who are doing small businesses from home.

Nurus Sakinah Hamisan, 26, said Internet connection plays a crucial part in her business of selling gold online, as well as catering services.

“I cannot do marketing for my business if there is no Internet connection. Sometimes it is hard to reply potential customers’ messages on WhatsApp.

“The worst part is when I lose connection, while using GPS (Global Positioning System) to deliver orders to customers. I usually do deliveries instead of using courier services to Puncak Alam and Jeram,” she said.

She has been switching her telco plan to find the best one, as there is no WiFi service provider available in her area yet.

It is also a challenge for her to check her bank statements or make online payments to her suppliers in an urgent situation.

The youths in Kuala Selangor said these issues are influencing their votes as first-time voters, among others.

They are also gravely hoping for the future leader of the district to handle the issues immediately.

For the upcoming GE14, Irmohizam will attempt to defend his parliamentary seat against PKR’s Dr Dzulkefly — who is also now the Parti Amanah Negara national strategic director — and against Kuala Selangor PAS deputy president Mohd Fakaruddin Ismail.