With the Johor state election set for July 11, residents across the Benut constituency are increasingly vocal about a persistent infrastructure gap that has slipped from the political agenda for far too long: reliable internet connectivity. From the small township of Benut, situated roughly 80 kilometres south of Johor Bahru, to isolated hamlets like Puteri Menangis, Kampung Air Baloi, and Parit Markom, dozens of constituents have described a frustrating pattern of erratic service that undermines both personal pursuits and economic activity.
The problem manifests differently depending on location and time of day, but the cumulative effect is clear. Siti Masita Mohamed, a 60-year-old retiree, explained how her daughter, who teaches kindergarten, must abandon work-from-home arrangements due to the unreliable service in Kampung Puteri Menangis. Rather than persisting with painfully slow or dropped connections, the teacher relocates to the family's second residence in Sungai Pinggan—itself hardly a solution, since that location suffers identical instability. What should be a straightforward shift toward remote work flexibility instead becomes an exercise in finding the least-bad alternative, a compromise that wastes time and fuel.
Beyond household inconvenience, the connectivity crisis directly threatens the economic survival of small operators and entrepreneurs. Md Shah Rizal Abdur Rahaman, a private sector employee aged 39, highlighted how intermittent service stifles the online business ventures that residents increasingly depend on to supplement household income. When digital commerce is the only realistic path to extra earnings for rural families, an unreliable connection is not merely an annoyance—it becomes a barrier to financial stability. The problem compounds when those entrepreneurs attempt to scale or diversify their operations.
Retail traders face particularly acute challenges in the cashless economy that Malaysia has been actively promoting. Ahmad Shahril Azhar, a 45-year-old shop owner, reported that QR code payment systems frequently malfunction due to network lapses, while digital money transfers stall or fail entirely. Customers accustomed to seamless contactless transactions encounter delays that erode confidence in the purchasing process. Some abandon their purchases altogether when a transaction hangs midway, representing lost revenue that could have been recovered had infrastructure simply functioned as promised. This cascade of failed transactions sends money elsewhere, to towns with better connectivity.
The educational dimension adds another layer of urgency to the connectivity crisis. Ating Loh, a 21-year-old enrolled at a private higher education institution in Skudai but residing in Benut during breaks, underscores how unstable internet obstructs academic responsibilities. Students require dependable connections to submit assignments, access online learning materials, and prepare for examinations—all tasks that remote-first institutions increasingly demand. When connectivity is unpredictable, educational outcomes suffer, perpetuating a cycle in which rural students face handicaps their urban peers do not encounter.
A survey conducted across the Benut area by news services identified Air Baloi, Sungai Pinggan, Parit Markom, and Puteri Menangis as particularly affected zones, suggesting the problem is geographically concentrated rather than sporadic. This specificity indicates that targeted infrastructure investment could resolve matters for a defined, relatively compact population. Yet despite repeated complaints and acknowledged awareness of the issue, little tangible progress has materialized. The disconnect between constituent need and governmental response has become impossible to ignore, especially as voters prepare to cast ballots.
The timing of this infrastructure complaint cycle is particularly significant. Benut will witness a head-to-head contest between Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Mohd Sumali Reduan and Pakatan Harapan's Abd Razak Ismail, with early voting scheduled to commence the day after this article was filed. The previous state election delivered victory to Datuk Hasni Mohammad of Barisan Nasional with a majority of 5,859 votes, a margin narrow enough to suggest voter sentiment remains fluid. In such a competitive environment, constituent grievances about neglected services can substantially influence outcomes.
The absence of sitting incumbent Datuk Hasni Mohammad, who is not contesting the seat this time, creates an opening for fresh approaches to longstanding problems. Datuk Mohd Sumali represents continuity with the previous administration, while Abd Razak Ismail represents potential change. For many constituents, the internet connectivity crisis epitomizes the gap between urban and rural Malaysia, between constituencies that receive regular government attention and those that appear forgotten between election cycles. This emerging issue touches upon fundamental questions about equitable service delivery and the government's capacity to bring rural areas into the digital economy that the nation has committed to building.
With approximately 24,751 voters eligible to cast ballots in Benut, and early voting already underway, the issue of infrastructure neglect is entering campaign conversations at a critical moment. Candidates aware of constituent frustration recognize an opportunity to pledge concrete commitments to telecommunications providers and federal authorities. Whether such commitments translate into action—or merely represent election-season rhetoric—will significantly shape voter enthusiasm in subsequent polls. For now, residents from Puteri Menangis to Parit Markom remain trapped between the promise of digital Malaysia and the stubborn reality of technological exclusion.
