PONTIAN: Growing up in Pekan Nenas in the early days when people toiled at pineapple and oil palm plantations, Tan Eng Meng knows all about hard work.“I’m a kampung boy,” said Tan, 60.
“My family never had it easy. I had to help my parents as I am their eldest child and I had eight siblings to take care of,” he recalled.
Tan, a Barisan Nasional candidate who is contesting in the Pekan Nanas seat for a second time, said: “Pekan Nanas was very different back then.
“There were no factories and people here relied heavily on agriculture produce such as pineapple and oil palm to earn a living.”
But such tough times have helped shape his outlook in life, he said, which is why he wants to be of service to others in the community.
“I was born and raised in Pekan Nanas. I got married and had a family of my own in this place that I call home.”
Hence, he said he likes helping others “as I am fortunate that I am able to give my service to the community, not only as a councillor for 10 years but also as a special officer to Tanjung Piai MP Datuk Seri Dr Wee Jeck Seng”.
Through such platforms, it led him to understand the issues people face in the Pekan Nanas community, he said during a walkabout here yesterday.
Tan said the people in Pekan Nanas want to see development in the area as it is located not far from Iskandar Puteri.
“They want affordable housing projects here as property prices in the area have been increasing in the last few years.
“This is part of my manifesto for the people in Pekan Nanas.
“Hopefully, I will be given the opportunity to realise their dream,” he added.
Tan also said he would always try to put people at ease, so that they would be comfortable to share their plight with him. “Their smiles and happiness are my source of energy to keep me going,” he said, adding that the people in Pekan Nanas are like a big family to him.
Tan is in a four-cornered fight with incumbent Yeo Tung Siong of DAP, Parti Wari- san’s Hishamuddin Busri and Perikatan Nasional’s Datuk Tan Chin Hock.