RAUB: Local lad Lim Teck Hoe vows to fix the long-standing water woes faced by the residents here if he is elected.
Fondly known as the “Du lai chai” among residents across all races, Lim said Tras always holds a special place in his heart. (Du lai is the Mandarin pronunciation of Tras, while chai means boy.)
Having returned to his hometown following the advice of former Raub MP Tan Sri Dr Ng Yen Yen in 2011, Lim said it was one of the best decisions he made in life.
“I became an ‘edupreneur’ after completing my Degree in Chemical Engineering, training people about mind-mapping and memory power.
“But it always gives me a different satisfaction serving my own community, who are also my friends and family back home.
“I want to do more for them,” he said in an interview.
Lim, from MCA, is contesting the Tras state seat in a four-corner battle with Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji (Pakatan Harapan), Amirul Mukminin Kuek Abdullah (Perikatan Nasional) and Mohd Tahir Kasim (Gerakan Tanah Air).
While the frequent unscheduled water cuts in Raub has been a hot topic among candidates’ here, Lim said it was a tricky issue that needed both short and long-term solutions that will ultimately solve the state’s water supply problem.
“It’s not practical to simply make promises, portraying as if the problem can be solved immediately after the election.”
While there have been allocations and ongoing plans by the Pahang state government, he said more would follow if Barisan Nasional is also elected in the Raub federal seat.
“The first thing I will do when elected is to have a roundtable meeting with all stakeholders to improve and rectify the water supply system in Tras.
“It will be my utmost priority because I feel their agony,” he said, adding that his family members also suffered the same.
Having gone through early development as a gold mining town, Lim is determined to improve the infrastructure and create more downstream agriculture activities for Raub.
“We used to have gold underground, but now our gold grows on the trees. Raub is a blessed land with resources and fertile ground.
“However, being an old town means our infrastructure is also dated. If elected, I want to upgrade the infrastructure for the people to improve their quality of life.
“It’s also high time we nurture and assist more local entrepreneurs in developing the downstream agriculture activities, as we are in the primary stage of exporting the whole durian fruits, and there are many opportunities,” he said.
The Tras state seat consists of about 50% of all voters in the Raub federal seat, spanning from Bukit Fraser up to Sungai Ruan, which is 2.5 hours by car from end to end.
It has seven new villages, 30 residential gardens and five Malay villages, with some 42,000 voters, of whom 25,000 are young voters between 18 and 21; 61% of them are Chinese, 30% (Malay), 8% (Indian) and 1% (Orang Asli).
Lim, who is also Tras Chinese New Village chief, said he has been working hard, especially concentrating on the Chinese new villages, as the support has not been favourable in the past three elections.
However, compared with GE14, he thinks he stands a chance as a local boy.
“For this time, I feel they are very welcoming. I seriously felt welcome,” he said, adding that he would leverage his experience and knowledge as a new village chief to serve the people.
Calling for progressive politics, he said candidates should never resort to mudslinging in their campaigning.
“I hope this will be a contest of ideas and effort to make Tras a better place rather than putting down each other,” he added.