GEORGE TOWN: Two Independent members of Parliament in Penang are in the midst of weighing their options about their political future in view of lingering speculation that a snap general election would be called soon.
Nibong Tebal MP Tan Tee Beng and Bayan Baru MP Zahrain Mohd Hashim, who quit PKR last year after a much publicised fallout with the party leadership, are pondering on which side of the political divide they should be if a snap polls was called in the immediate future.
Tan admitted that he had received “friendly overtures” from the likes of Gerakan, MCA, Parti Cinta Malaysia and the newly formed Parti Kesejahteraan Insan Tanah Air (Kita), led by outspoken politician Zaid Ibrahim.
Zaid took over a largely dormant Kelantan-based political party, Akim, last month and renamed it as Kita, with the hope that it would become the political voice for middle-class Malaysians, and for those who are fed-up with the politicking style of Pakatan Rakyat and Barisan Nasional.
Tan is now listening to the various recommendations by various quarters on the benefits of rejoining a political party.
“I am weighing the options but if you ask me now and if the election is now, I would tell you that I want to defend my Nibong Tebal seat as I have been serving the constituents well.”
Tan said his preference would be to go back to Nibong Tebal but there are two scenarios, which may prevent this.
The first is that he joins a political party that is not given the seat to contest the Nibong Tebal constituency or the second, he is moved to another constituency with a bigger chance of victory.
He said being an Independent MP has both positive and negative points.
The negative limitations of being an independent MP is that he has to make-do with limited cash flow and human resources in campaigning to regain the Nibong Tebal seat.
The son of former Penang Gerakan strongman Tan Gim Hwa said he is being realistic about his political career.
“I still want to serve the people and I believe that I have done much for constituents now despite the handicap of going alone,” he told FMT.
Zahrain wants to serve his voters
However, Tan said his decision would be ultimately be based on what is best for both the constituents and himself.
Given an opportunity, Tan pledged that he would not abandon the voters in Nibong Tebal, who supported him at the historic March 2008 general election.
In that election, Tan won the seat on a PKR ticket when he created an “upset” defeating the then-incumbent Zainal Abidin Osman who is now the Penang Umno liaison committee chairman.
Zahrain on the other hand revealed that he intended to first focus on serving his constituents, especially with the upcoming Chinese Lunar New Year, “as it is the time for all Malaysians to rejoice over a major festive occasion in the country.”
“Sincerely, I have not given any serious thought on whether I should defend the seat. If you ask me to vacate it, I would give you a straight no as I would be betraying the trust bestowed to me by the constituents. But in a general election, it is different,” he added.
Zahrain, however, admitted that he must make a decision about his political future soon, saying it has to start with whether he has served the constituents well enough to merit a second chance.
He hopes the voters here can see that he has been performing in Parliament and that they can see through the spins doctored by PKR or any other parties, about him.
He said his conscience is clear about quitting PKR and now it would be the same principle, which would guide him into making a decision about either defending his seat as an Independent or joining a political party.
It is learnt that PCM and Kita are aggressively seeking out members and supporters in Penang as both hope to field candidates here.
Both parties are in contact with Tan and Zahrain but for now, the two Independents have yet to make up their mind, giving rise to speculation that there was a possibility that they may contest as Independents in an event of a snap election. - FMT
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