4WDs, SUVs, practical for Gua Musang roads?

There has been a surge of luxury vehicles cruising the roads here lately.

Sports utility vehicles (SUVs) and other expensive four-wheel-drive (4WD) vehicles appear to have outnumbered luxury cars.

Makes such as Porsche Cayennes, BMW X6's and X5's, Volkswagen Touaregs and Lexuses have been spotted around town.

It could not be established who the owners were but residents here believed the big vehicles were driven by those running political campaigns for the Galas by-election.

An aide to a politician said the use of the 4WD's was more practical in the Galas constituency as his "boss" would stay in comfort even when they had to travel through logging tracks to reach remote campaign venues.

"Besides, a normal Mercedes or BMW will get stuck in mud if you try to drive up a slope of a dirt track," he said.

At a recent election campaign in Lojing, a field next to an Orang Asli settlement was turned into a big display of SUV's and 4WD's.

An Orang Asli teenager Awi Alang said he had rarely seen so many SUV and 4WD models being parked at his village before.

"I can only dream to have one of those vehicles," he said.

Looking for halal "dim sum"?

Unlike in other parts of Kelantan where one would be able to find the famous "keropok lekor" in almost every restaurant, finding it in Galas is not that easy as most of the operators are not locals and mostly from Thailand.

One such operator is Aminah Zahari, 21, who is of Thai parentage and now operates a restaurant selling "pau" along Jalan Pulai here - probably the only outlet where one can get halal "dim-sum" in Galas.

"Most restaurant operators here are Thais. Our restaurant is 23 year old and about two years ago, we decided to sell pau and dim-sum after realising there was a strong demand from the Chinese community here.

"Since then, even the Malays here have developed a liking for it and it is now a hit here," she said.

The fact that Aminah speaks fluent Mandarin makes it easier for her to interact with her customers.

"Some of our customers come in for breakfast and lunch, while most drop in for tea," she said, adding that she learnt Mandarin while studying at a Chinese kindergarten at the New Village here.

There are two Chinese kindergartens in this town with a fair mix of children of all races.

A loyal customer, Ah Kang, who has been frequenting the restaurant said on Thursdays, they would serve "special" dim-sum and pau from Thailand and it was something the locals here looked forward to.

"Everyone here is friendly and the food is good. Besides, there is no other place in Galas where we can get dim-sum," he said.

Aminah's restaurant is among those enjoying extra brisk business during this campaign season, especially since it is located next to a hotel and opposite the Pas operations centre.

Due to the overwhelming business, her sister, Aishah Zahari, 16, who lives and studies in Langkawi decided to come back and help her family.

"I was told that there was just too much for my family to handle and so I decided to come home and help out," she said, adding that they did not increase their prices to cash in on the boom in business.

Unlike Aminah's restaurant, most others have taken advantage of the by-election crowd, with some increasing their prices by almost 100 per cent.

Time to make money, times two

One of the many inns/hotels in Gua Musang

As with any other by-elections, it is common understanding that with by-elections come businesses@more money. This is due to demand no matter how ridiculous the prices are. But it still makes me marvel at how high, really, that the prices can go. Very high, it seems, in Gua Musang.

I also noticed there are many motels/inns/hotels around the Gua Musang town which raises the question, if not for the by-election, are there still that many customers for these accommodations? One can only wonder. Some owners even give out the 'take it or leave it' attitude, what with the by-election coming on the day after tomorrow.

I stayed in an inn the first night I reached here. It was RM90 then. Today, a quick question to the same inn operator told me it's RM180, for the same type of room, just a different date. The date nearing to the by-election, of course.

Another inn I came across even had a print out with the heading that said:

'ROOM PRICES FOR BY-ELECTION'

Wow, some don't even try to cover the fact that they are hiking up prices during by-election period. Take it, or leave it. And by the way, if you want to make money, watch out for the next by-election and set up an inn, a hotel in the area of the by-election, and be prepared to make  heaps of money...! :-)