Former deputy minister and PPP president M Kayveas believes 13th general election will only be called in June 2012, later than the much speculated March 2012.
PETALING JAYA: The People’s Progressive Party (PPP), which was almost wiped out in the 2008 general election, is seeking to make a stronger comeback in the 13th general election.
The party has returned the contentious Taiping parliamentary seat, which its president M Kayveas contested and lost in 2008, to Gerakan and is now eyeing a seat each in Penang, Wilayah Persekutuan and Perak.
Said Kayveas: “Taiping will never be a PPP seat again. We have surrendered the seat to Gerakan.
“We won’t ask for it and even if given I won’t take the seat. Its decided.”
The Taiping MP seat was one of the two constituencies (the other being state seat Pasir Berdamar) which PPP lost to DAP candidates in the 2008 national polls.
“Gerakan openly sabotaged me in 2008, with the Hindraf being an issue and MIC was also unhappy to see an Indian leader.
“It wouldn’t help anybody now if we continued to fight over the seat today. So after March 8, PPP officially handed over Taiping to Gerakan, and they have accepted it,” Kayveas told FMT.
He said that there was nothing to fight about now and unity between parties was the most important in helping Barisan Nasional do well in the coming general election, which Kayveas predicts would only occur in June 2012, later than the much speculated March 2012.
“Disunity in BN now will be fatal. Now we need to be working together,” said Kayveas, who said he had done his best to serve constituents during the past three and a half years in Taiping even though he had lost the seat.
PPP wants a seat in Perak
He said PPP was not demanding for seats which it could not deliver.
“We have made some proposals, without naming the candidates, to the deputy prime minister who is the BN election chairman,” said Kayveas.
He said generally PPP from all states have asked for about one state seats each.
“We are also very clearly asking for one Parliament seat in Penang and one in Wilayah Persekutuan.
“In Perak, since we returned Taiping, we expect a return of one seat too,” said Kayveas.
However, Kayveas stressed again that deliverablity was most paramount.
“As I said, getting a seat is no longer important, we want winnable candidates. There are certain areas where certain candidates can’t win.
“You must not only identify the area, but the correct candidate,” he said.
Right attitude important
As for himself, Kayveas said: “If given a seat that I would lose, I wouldn’t want to contest.
“I’m just going to stay out until really there is a seat that I could win and serve well in.
“If not I am prepared to stay out of election,” he said.
Kayveas said the “old way of thinking” where a stubborn X party demands that it needs X amount of seats no longer applies.
“The Prime Minister is very open this time, he said, talk among component, you cannot hold on to your seats, you give it to someone else who can.
“So I think ultimately, they can find a solution. It all depends on the right attitude. “
Taiping back to Gerakan
Kayveas is known to have a rocky relationship with fellow BN component party members, especially Gerakan, which gave up its Taiping seat to PPP in the 2004 general election.
Gerakan has never lost Taiping, a seat it held since 1969. In the 2004 seat arrangement with Umno, Gerakan’s women’s wing chief Tan Lian Hoe(now Grik MP) was given the Malay-majority Bukit Gantang seat, which she won.
Since 2004, Gerakan and PPP have been trading barbs over the Taiping seat.
Recently, at its National Delegates Conference, Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon said that the party plans to re-contest in Taiping.
“We, Gerakan, are a very generous one, you know, we accomodated our friend from PPP to be in Taiping, twice, but this time, we would like to take Taiping back,” Koh had said.
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