Nomination brings traffic in PD to a standstill

PORT DICKSON: If the folk here are used to the heavy traffic during weekends and holidays, they had better be prepared for what will be in store for the next two weeks.

A preview of that was evident yesterday with most roads filled with traffic as nominations for the Port Dickson by-election got underway.

Most of those who turned up came to support their candidates while there were also others who just wanted to take a look at Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim and the other contenders.

Engineer M. Valliraman, 55, said the nomination exercise caused a gridlock in town, and as it was a weekend, there were several other programmes going on at the same time.

“The entire PD Waterfront area was packed and traffic came to a standstill on an early Saturday morning,” he said.

Valliraman said he hoped for a silver lining for the resort town.

“It will be good if the MP here becomes the prime minister as a lot more can be done for Port Dickson,” he said.

P. Surinder Singh, 62, said he had never seen such a huge number of people converging here.

“I have also never seen a contest involving so many people for the Port Dickson seat because it has always been either two or three candidates only,” said Surinder.

Thousands began congregating at a field by the sea and outside the Land and District office at Batu 1 Jalan Pantai as early as 7am.

Pakatan Harapan supporters brought lion and dragon dance troupes as well as a traditional Indian music group for entertainment.

The crowd cheered each time they saw a low-flying aircraft on its way to land at the Kuala Lumpur Inter­national Airport and KLIA2.

Stalls selling vuvuzelas and food were also put up to add to the carnival air.

Surinder said on other days, traffic would only start building up around noon at “manageable le­­vels”.

The opening of a new stretch to Teluk Kemang and Pasir Panjang had somewhat eased congestion, he said.

“People come to PD because we can still get cheap accommodation here and we have beautiful beaches and other tourism destinations such as Tanjung Tuan, Sungai Menyala forest reserve and historical Peng­kalan Kempas,” he said.

Apart from its popular beaches, Port Dickson is also known as the country’s army town as several camps are located here.

Over the years, reputable hotels have expanded here and are heavily booked during the holidays.

Self-employed Max Tan, 48, said he was happy Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim was contesting in Port Dickson.

“Despite being located close to Kuala Lumpur, Port Dickson has been neglected for too long.

“If we do more for tourism in PD, people would not have to go to Thai­land or Indonesia,” he said, adding that there was talk of Hard Rock Hotel opening here but this was cancelled for unknown reasons.

Nasi lemak seller Halijah Aman, 58, was happy with Port Dickson being in the limelight.

“If Anwar wins, I want him to have the railway line from here to Seremban.

“I remember taking the train when I was younger but this service has stopped for years,” she said, adding that tourism should also be promoted on weekdays.