State polls: Bau Wong wants to bring Siamese community's voice in Kedah

SUNGAI PETANI - Being the only representative from the Siamese community to contest in the state polls did not bring Bau Wong Bau Ek's spirits down in bringing the community's voice to a higher level.

The Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the Sidam state seat vowed to try to highlight some of the problems faced by the Siamese in Kedah for a long time besides creating harmony among the multiethnic community in the area.

At the same time, he thanked the party's leadership for giving him the opportunity and trust to contest in the state election this time, thus representing the only candidate from the Siamese community.

"The Siamese's problem is indeed (having to do) with land ownership, but it can be said that not all (among us) have that problem, the only ones who do are those who apply for land, land transfer to their children, so that is the problem,

"Other problems faced by most of the (Siamese) people are such as the red identity card.

"It is the Siamese's hope that I highlight these kinds of problems through the Sidam State Legislative Assembly in Kedah," he told reporters after campaigning in Taman Batik here on Thursday.

Meanwhile, Bau said he will also try to delve into more details of two main problems of the residents of Sidam namely the poor Internet access and low water pressure especially in rural areas.

In regards to his chance of winning in the state seat, he said he was confident that there was an advantage since the former Sidam assemblyman had betrayed the party before going to Perikatan Nasional's (PN) 'side'.

However, Bau never underestimated the competition with the PN candidate considering that the coalition fielded a Malay candidate in the state seat.

Former Sidam PKR assemblyman Dr Robert Ling Kui Ee left the party in 2020 thus causing the fall of the Kedah PH government.

He previously won the seat by obtaining a majority of 10,860 votes in a four-cornered contest with Pas candidate Nur Hidayah Foo Abdullah, Tan Kok Seong (Barisan Nasional) and Mohd Hashim Saaludin (Parti Rakyat Malaysia) in the 14th General Election (GE14).

The Sidam state assembly which has 60,983 voters is a mixed seat in Kedah with the percentage of Malay voters less than 50 per cent while Chinese and Indian voters are at 35 per cent and 20 per cent respectively. - AWANI