My Constituency - Segambut

From Star Metro. This is my constituency.

Well-developed: Mont Kiara is the affluent part of Segambut.

FROM the high-end condominiums of Mont Kiara and Sri Kiara to the middle-class areas of Taman Sri Segambut and Bandar Manjalara, and the rural areas of Segambut Dalam and Kampung Sungai Penchala, the Segambut constituency has a diverse population base.

The constituency was created in 1994 and has been a Barisan Nasional safe seat. Datuk Dr Tan Kee Kwong had won the seat the last three terms.

Gerakan acting president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon announced Thursday that Federal Territories Gerakan Youth chief Ma Woei Chyi will be contesting in Segambut, replacing Dr Tan.

“I will work hard to continue the tradition and image established by Dr Tan who served Segambut well,” said Ma.

The DAP will be fielding Segambut DAP service centre chief Lim Lip Eng, a practising lawyer who is contesting for the first time.

The other end: Kampung Segambut Dalam is often hit with floods.

The constituency comprises 18 housing estates: Taman Bukit Maluri, Sri Segambut, Taman Kok Doh, Taman City Kanan, Taman Sri Sinar, Kg Sungai Udang, Taman Segambut, Bukit Lanjan, Segambut, Kg Kasipillay, Sri Hartamas, Taman Bunga, Kg Sungai Pencala, Medan Damansara, Taman Tun Dr Ismail (TTDI) Utara, TTDI Selatan, Bandar Manjalara and Bukit Damansara.

There are a total of 59,690 voters in the constituency, of which almost half are Chinese. Areas like Taman Bukit Maluri and Taman Sri Sinar have a high percentage of Chinese voters while areas like Segambut and Taman Bunga, Malay.

While residents in the middle- and upper-class areas are more concerned about service-related issues like uncollected rubbish or roads with potholes, there are other issues like the flash floods in Segambut and the clearing of trees in Medan Damansara.

Taman Sri Sinar's Nova 1 residents' association chairman Vincent Ng said most of the service-related problems, like faulty streetlights or rubbish collection, were addressed promptly and the only big problem in the area was the traffic jam.

The chosen one: Ma will be contesting in Segambut.

A Kampung Segambut Masjid resident, who wanted to be known only as Kamal, said rapid development in places like Sri Hartamas and Mont Kiara had affected the quality of life in Segambut Dalam.

“Surrounding areas are developed and our village gets flooded when it rains. Also, with the high amount of construction going on around us, we experience water cuts about five times a month. The water pipes are also very old and we have occasional burst pipes here,” said the 35-year-old who was born and raised in Segambut Dalam. The main road serving the few villages can get congested with the high amount of traffic from the surrounding areas and the road is in bad condition.

He said there was also the strong presence of foreigners, from countries like Indonesia and Bangladesh, in the area.

“If you look around the village, there are many immigrants here and some of them even operate their own businesses. It used to be mostly locals staying here,” he said.

DAP’s man: Lim will take on Ma.

Kamal said many people in Segambut Dalam had sold their land to developers and moved out. “The high-rise buildings are fringing us and if more people sell off their land, I would be left with no choice but to sell mine off as well. I don't want to be staying right next to a block of condominiums,” he added.

I'm all pumped now. I really want to see what they really have to offer. Both parties are showing new faces and I wonder who the better one is. I definitely have a lot of questions though I know for sure they wouldn't be knocking at my door step and ask for my vote.

May the better party win.