BENTONG: Young voters here can barely conceal their excitement at the prospect of casting their votes for the first time in the 15th General Election.
They said they would scrutinise each candidate for this parliamentary constituency carefully, with the hope of choosing a capable and trustworthy leader.
Farhana Asila Munirah, 24, said whoever wins in Bentong should help grow the local economy and facilitate plans to build a “classy mall”.
“We need to go to Kuala Lumpur or Genting Highlands for entertainment and leisure, including going to a cinema, while the public transport service around here is still a bit inconvenient,” she said.
Farhana, who is a retail assistant, added that tourists come to Bentong for durian and food but someone needs to spread the word that Bentong has several attractive tourist spots, such as waterfalls.
She also hopes Bentong will develop so that it will provide more job opportunities for young people to remain in their hometown for work.
Janakiram Ravishankar, 20, is also another eager beaver when it comes to the polls.
“I will research each candidate to choose a capable leader,” said the intern in the IT field, who expressed hope that the winning party and candidates could help to provide more job opportunities.
“I wish after I graduate from college, I can find a job in Bentong. Many of my friends need to go to another state for work after graduating,” he added.
Another young voter, Cheng Jia Yin, 18, has also decided on the candidate she will vote for.
Cheng, a college student, urged the winning party to develop Bentong so that the youth will have a reason to stay in their hometown.
“Life can be a bit boring in Bentong – no cinema, no Korean-style fried chicken, and we have to go to another place for shopping,” she said.
“I have three siblings; we have to go to KL for college and work,” she added.
Chen Kah Chun, 19, is a durian farmer who wants the winning party and representative to promote Bentong durian and grow new markets for this fruit.
“We don’t just want to export to China, but also to other countries,” he said.
Chen said while the state government encourages farmers to plant durian and generate good revenue, there are constraints to growing the industry.
“Since the local government encourages youth to go back to Bentong for work, please help us to solve the worker shortage problem, as well as the high raw material cost problem,” he said.