Lembah Pantai

Lembah Pantai is a parliamentary constituency in Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, consisting of 47 divisions. Constituencies adjacent to Lembah Pantai are Seputeh, Segambut and Bukit Bintang.

Malays make up the majority of constituents in Lembah Pantai electorate at 52.8% followed by the Chinese at 25.3 %, Indians at 20.8%, and others at 1.1%. The total number of eligible voters is 56,650.

The constituency was represented by Shahrizat Abdul Jalil from the Barisan Nasional ruling coalition. She was the Member of Parliament since 1995. She was also the Women, Family and Community Development Minister in the Malaysian cabinet. She was defeated by Parti Keadilan Rakyat candidate, Nurul Izzah Anwar in the 2008 Malaysian general election.

Housing squatters had been Barisan Nasional’s trump card. To date, some 90% of squatters in Lembah Pantai have been resettled and allowed to purchase their homes, says Shahrizat. When Shahrizat first became the area’s MP in 1995, the problem of the day was squatters as well as other concerns, such as floods, fire, garbage collection, street lamps, and children’s scholarships.

Divisions

Bangsar

One of the more popular areas which come under Lembah Pantai constituency is Bangsar, a popular upmarket residential and entertainment area. Most of the residents here are well to do and less reliant on the government. When it comes to voting, their trend is based on what appeals to the mind, which are issues such as corruption and transparency.

Pantai Dalam

Pantai Dalam is a residential area located south of Bangsar. There are many smaller residential areas that form the larger residential area of Pantai Dalam, including:

*Pantai Hillpark
*Kampung Pantai
*PPR Sri Pantai
*Desa Aman 1 & 2
*Pantai Murni
*Taman Bukit Angkasa
*Pantai Baru
*Kampung Pasir
*Taman Pantai Dalam
*Taman Pantai Indah
*PPR Kampung Limau
*Jalan Kubur
*Kampung Kerinchi
*Pantai Panorama
*Angkasapuri

Pantai Dalam is a perfect watershed between two groups of urban Malays: the affluent and the working class. The former live mainly in gleaming, whitewashed condominiums like the Andalusia Condominium in Pantai Hillpark, or in luxury bungalows in Kampung Pantai and Pantai Halt.

For the working class, the luxury apartments located further uphill are perhaps symbols of what one can aspire to. Most of them live in the white-turned black Kondo Rakyat.

Most of the area’s constituents are blue-collar workers living in flats that had been sold to them under the People's Housing Project when they were resettled from their squatter homes several years ago.

Some squatters are still waiting to buy homes under this project, which was announced by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi prior to the 12th Malaysian general election, 2008.

Pantai Dalam is well connected to the other parts of Klang Valley via the New Pantai Expressway and the Federal Highway.

References

* [http://thestar.com.my/election/story.asp?file=/2008/3/2/election2008/20474670&sec=Election2008 New dimension to urban voting] , The Star, March 2, 2008.