Bread and butter in Bagan Pinang

"IN Malaysia, we must vote for Barisan Nasional (BN); we have been voting for them for a long time," says T Muniandy. "We help them by voting for them, and then they help us." It is 6 Oct 2009, the fourth day of the Bagan Pinang by-election campaign. It is a sunny and sticky late afternoon here in Taman Sungai Ujong at the Sua Betong estate. Residents say there are 20 families living in this residential area — 14 Indian, four Malay and two Chinese Malaysians.

Muniandy is an unemployed former oil palm estate worker in his late 40s. "PAS came and said vote for them, I said okay, okay. But we must still vote for BN," he says.

Muniandy is not alone in feeling this way. T Poovammah, 48, tells reporters that she is definitely voting for the BN, too. This is despite revealing that she and her husband only make a combined monthly salary of RM600, and that's during a good month. During the rainy season, they make maybe RM300 to RM400. Why, if their wages are so meagre, would they still want to vote for the BN?- + selanjutnya

Bread and butter in Bagan Pinang