The common word for electricity in Malay is ‘Api’ which is also used when referring to fire in the daily conversations of the people throughout Malaysia.
To the people of Kampung Api Api however, ‘Api’ or electricity remains nothing more than just a word as they have not enjoyed electricity supply all these years despite the many promises made.
Kampung Api Api Village Committee deputy chairman I, Rimban Mawang, 40 said the villagers were disappointed with DAP and PKR who have not walked the talk for the past five years.
“They (DAP, PKR) are only interested in running down the Barisan Nasional candidate but do not come to the ground to understand our problems or assist in solving our problems.
“For five years DAP and PKR have held Piasau and the Miri parliamentary seat but no elected representative has visited us or understood our need for electricity and a bridge to ease our hardship although our village is only 10km from Miri city,” he said.
Initially the villagers had requested a wooden bridge to connect the people in the village but after the request was put forward, there was no sign of the DAP representative.
“When BN leaders came to our place we again put forward our request and BN immediately fulfilled our wish by building a temporary bridge even though the BN candidate had lost in the constituency,” he said.
Dubah Samak, 54, said living without electricity in Kampung Api Api had become part and parcel of the people’s daily life in the squatter houses here.
Some have generators but supply from generators is reserved for evening or at specific periods only because of the high cost involved to keep the generators running for long hours.
Since people here are relatively poor and live from ‘hand to mouth’ with earnings around RM400 a month, maintaining a generator at a cost of RM500 a month is out of the question, said Dubah.
Dubah said the 256 villagers staying in squatter houses here are hungry for change since electricity supply remains a basic need and villagers are also ready to shift out of the squatter area if given an opportunity.
According to Dubah, the assemblyman in Piasau had failed to fulfill their needs.
“In contrast, the BN-led government has come forward to build roads and provide assistance for the use of generators,” she told Bernama.
In the May 7 polls, BN candidate Sebastian Ting who is the SUPP secretary-general and former political secretary of Peter Chin Fah Kui who was the former Energy, Green Technology and Water Minister will take on Alan Ling Sie Kiong of the DAP in a straight fight.
Kampung Api Api village committee member Ita Ujuh, 34, said the villagers were grateful to BN for building a connecting bridge through which the villagers are linked to each other.
“We hope the incoming candidate can uplift our livelihood by shifting us to a new location with electricity supply,” he said.
– BERNAMA