KUANTAN: It is a small quiet town in the district of Bentong, and being located very near the border with Negeri Sembilan, Simpang Pelangai is also known as ‘the ends of Pahang’ among the locals.
It is a place less traversed, and even if you do somehow get there, more often than not, Simpang Pelangai is being passed through as an alternative route to get into Pahang.
A native of Simpang Pelangai, Ahmed Wafiuddin Shamsuri, 28, said the town is the centre of activity for people living in the Pelangai state constituency as various facilities including a health clinic, an automated teller machine (ATM) and a post office are located here.
Ahmed Wafiuddin who was previously the Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the state seat in the 15th general election (GE15), said Pelangai constituents reside at three Felda land schemes, Orang Asli villages, Chinese villages and traditional Malay villages, as well as in estates.
“Most of them work in oil palm or rubber plantations, are self-employed or do odd jobs apart from the civil servants on duty there,” he told Bernama.
For Siti Najwa Syafika Zaini, 33, who lives in Kampung Bukit Gajah, although the place isolated, it is peaceful and calm in Pelangai and the people know and help each other as a community.
Although it is quite a distance from towns, the area has the potential to be developed, especially if the Lingkaran Tengah Utama (LTU) expressway or formerly known as the Central Spine Road (CSR) is constructed to pass through Simpang Pelangai as originally planned.
This had been one of the projects the late Pelangai state assemblyman Datuk Seri Johari Harun had fought for.
The LTU expressway connecting Kuala Krai, Kelantan and the East Coast Expressway (LPT) interchange in Bentong is currently under construction and expected to be fully completed in 2026.
Last May, Works Deputy Minister Datuk Seri Abdul Rahman Mohamad said that the Public Works Department (JKR) was at the stage of preparing the design of the route alignment for the LTU project from Karak to Simpang Pelangai.
Meanwhile, local resident Nor Ain Yazid, 57, who grew up in Kampung Chemomoi, said the construction of the highway will allow residents to increase their income by selling food and local products or going into eco and agrotourism business.
“Besides setting up drink and food stalls, should a market centre be provided, the locals can take the opportunity to sell their garden produce or get involved in the tourism industry,” she said.
A volunteer firefighter in Telemong, Mark Lai, 46, said in addition to improving the socio-economic status of local residents, the construction of a new road can make it easier for residents to go to the nearest town for various matters.
“The current main road that goes through Jalan Karak-Kuala Pilah, which is long and winding slows down travelling and at times, when it rains heavily, there is a risk of flash floods on the road that crosses Sungai Telemong, ” he said.
Lai also hoped that the construction of the highway would pave the way for more infrastructure facilities including petrol stations and supermarkets in the area.
Currently, those who need to deal with banks or buy provisions, have to go to either Simpang Durian in Jelebu, Negeri Sembilan which is about 10 km away, Triang in Bera which is located over 44 km, or they may choose to Karak (43 km) or Bentong town (64 km).
The Election Commission has fixed Oct 7 as polling day for the Pelangai state seat by-election, following the death of Johari, 53, who was one of the 10 victims of the plane crash in Shah Alam, Selangor on Aug 17.
Nomination and early voting for the by-election have been fixed on Sept 23 and Oct 3 respectively.
In GE15, Johari who represented Barisan Nasional (BN) won with a majority of 4,048 votes, defeating Perikatan Nasional (PN) candidate Kasim Samat, Ahmed Wafiuddin and Pejuang candidate Isa Ahmad. – BERNAMA
