A two-way trip by taxi about 50km away to the town of Gua Musang or Dabong, where such facilities can be found, costs about RM50.
This is a hefty sum for villagers like Kipli Isa from Kampung Bertam Baru, but he, for one, has few alternatives. While he has a motorcycle, it is a long and risky trip on dark forest roads.
This means that the 54-year-old, who works as a gardener at a school, must somehow find the money he needs to make withdrawals even for basic necessities.
“If I withdraw RM100, half of it will be used for travelling,” he said to FMT.
His hope is that an ATM can be installed nearer to his home so that he can save on travelling expenses.
FMT understands that while there are a handful of sundry shops in the area which are also banking agents, they can only provide up to RM300 per villager.
Suriani Mustafa from Kampung Bertam Lama said their hope for an ATM might seem hilarious to “outsiders”, especially those in urban areas.
“Outsiders may laugh at us for wanting an ATM, but only those of us who live in rural areas know how important this is, especially if we want to send money to our children in university,” she said.
“We have families who live in Kuala Sungai who are forced to take a 30-minute boat ride before hopping into a car to get to Gua Musang, just to withdraw money.”
Even online banking is difficult due to the limited internet access in the area, the 47-year-old said, voicing hope that the incoming elected representative will be able to help.
Some 20,259 voters in Nenggiri will choose between Perikatan Nasional candidate Rizwadi Ismail of PAS and Barisan Nasional’s Azmawi Fikri Abdul Ghani of Umno at the by-election on Aug 17.
The Nenggiri seat was declared vacant by the Kelantan state assembly after the incumbent Azizi Abu Naim ceased to be a Bersatu member.
Meanwhile, Mahathir Mohamad, 44, of Sungai Asap said that the villagers, especially the youth, wanted more job opportunities as they did not want to migrate.
“Many have gone to Kuala Lumpur because opportunities are limited here.
“There are a lot of rubber estates and oil palm plantations, but they are not keen on these.”