The electorate supported a Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate from Gerakan for three terms, before handing over the seat to DAP in 2008.
Fast forward 10 years later: the voters are faced with a different kind of issue, with current “conscientious” state assemblyman, Teh Yee Cheu. He won the seat in the 2008 and 2013 general elections, winning with a 5,515-vote majority in the latter.
The DAP rep has been vocal against development projects and matters of governance, going directly against his party’s state leaders.
He has also vowed to quit the party at the end of the term, when Parliament is dissolved for the 14th general election (GE14).
Today, he is persona non grata to the state government. But the Pakatan Harapan (PH) state government believes the people of Tanjung Bungah will still vote for the opposition.
In the midst of a seeming tumult, FMT did a street survey to find out what makes the people of Tanjung Bungah tick politically, and their wish list for their future elected rep.
‘How to vote between two bad choices?’
Talking to some 30 individuals from a cross-section of the electorate over the past two months, we found that the people there are politically fatigued.
At least one-third of those who were polled said they are not interested in voting in GE14.
But oddly enough, the same group of people want Teh to remain as their assemblyman, knowing full well that he has left DAP.
Some of them are sitting on the fence, waiting to see who DAP will field in the next polls.
Most are still against BN, despite Penang having been a Gerakan stronghold for decades.
“How to vote? Teh is a good guy but he is out of DAP. We want to support DAP but I don’t want anyone else other than Teh.
“First, Teh said he might not contest. Now he wants to contest.
“My friends are saying we should not vote at all. Both DAP and BN also teruk (bad),” a retired engineer from Chee Seng Garden said.
Teh had his assemblyman allocations cut, and even his assistants were recently sacked in what appears to be sanctions against him after his vow to quit DAP following GE14.
Another voter, who is a top executive at a factory, said he was “stuck between a rock and a hard place” in deciding who to pick in the coming polls.
“How am I to choose between two bad choices? I likely won’t vote. DAP and BN same lah, ‘dua kali lima’,” said the woman who is in her 30s.
‘Tanjung Bungah under the influence of developers’
Another voter, a former academic, said Tanjung Bungah’s current developer-centric mode was worrying, with commanding views of the sea blocked by skyscrapers and hill slopes crashing down after a downpour.
The man, who wished to remain anonymous, said the once idyllic and picturesque scenery of Tanjung Bungah was no more.
“The state is under the influence of developers and in Tanjung Bungah, it is no different.
“Anytime there is a protest, they (the authorities) have sided with the developers. Developers are convinced that density equals affordable housing.
“More high-rises have been coming up on hill slopes lately, despite collapsing hill slopes and mud floods,” he said.
Traffic was also a major concern, he added, as excess development choked the only two roads leading up to Tanjung Bungah.
“The jams are getting longer every morning. It will end up with a bigger problem. There is a lot of development here minus the infrastructure.”
However he believes the status quo will be maintained as far as GE14 is concerned.
“Whatever is said and done, most people will choose DAP. But I am certain when the traffic builds up, they will change their minds.”
Cut high density developments
Tanjung Bungah Residents’ Association (TBRA) chairperson Meenakshi Raman said whoever intended to contest must take note of demands made by the residents.
She said TBRA was not in a position to comment on political matters, but hoped the next Tanjung Bungah assemblyman would keep his or her ear close to the ground and listen to the grouses of residents.
“We are more worried about landslides than politics. Hill slope development has been rampant. And now they want to build a highway to our backyard,” Meenakshi said.
She said the town planners’ ignorance in allowing high-density developments needed to be urgently fixed.
While TBRA welcomed the state government’s continued barring of projects on land above 76m or 250ft above sea level, the density issue has gone unchecked, she added.
She said Tanjung Bungah was supposed to have a density of 15 units per acre, but the state had allowed up to 30 units per acre, which is against the State Structure Plan.
Meenakshi said she was doubly worried about the North Coast Paired Road, the 10km bypass which the state government intends to build, with Tanjung Bungah in the middle of it.
‘We want a third party’
A community leader based in Lembah Permai said there had been talk of having a “third party” to save Tanjung Bungah from further development and destruction.
The man in his 50s said while most were supportive of DAP, they also felt it was time that Tanjung Bungah was freed from mainstream political parties from BN or PH.
“Most are thinking, we will vote DAP for Parliament, but a party that is free from the development agenda, that is from BN or PH, for a state seat.
“This would give a form of check and balance in the Penang government, at the state level.
“Our goal is to see change in Putrajaya and maybe to not give Komtar too much power, since our voices have been drowned out by pro-developer voices over the past 10 years.”
A Gerakan insider said a candidate from the party would be fielded but there would be no announcement made for now, as it required the party leaders’ consent.
DAP: We understand the people’s concerns
Zairil Khir Johari, who is Bukit Bendera MP and Penang DAP vice-chairman, said the list of candidates for GE14 had not yet been decided.
“I am continuing the services to the people of Tanjung Bungah until a suitable candidate is chosen,” he said.
Zairil said the voters’ sentiment was understandable as a result of “internal politicking”, but added that based on feedback, many voters in Tanjung Bungah were supportive of the DAP-led state government.
“While we acknowledge their concerns, we want to focus on serving the people, that is our priority,” the DAP assistant national publicity secretary said.
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