Kit Siang's move to Gelang Patah a ploy to divert tussle for Johor seats?

JOHOR BAHARU-- The announcement that DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang will be contesting the Gelang Patah Parliamentary seat in Johor at the 13th general election is seen as a ploy to divert the tussle for seats in the state.

Political observers believed the announcement by opposition leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim as an effort to divert attention from a recent dispute between Johor DAP chairman Dr Boo Cheng Hau and Johor Parti Keadilan Rakyat chairman Datuk Chua Jui Meng, on the distribution of seats.

There was also a conflict between Dr Boo and deputy Ong Kow Meng, resulting in a vote of no confidence against Dr Boo by Ong and 16 DAP branches on Sunday, followed by Dr Boo challenging Ong to contest against him at the party election on Wednesday.

For Universiti Malaysia Sarawak (Unimas) senior lecturer Dr Jeniri Amir, Kit Siang was an icon in the opposition pact and placing him to contest in Johor would silence the squabbling parties.

He told Bernama that the move by Kit Siang was also seen as a DAP political strategy to strengthen their position, especially as Johor was among the states targeted by the opposition to garner more parliamentary seats, in their quest capture Putrajaya.

"At the same time, I see the move by Kit Siang from Ipoh to Gelang Patah as an indication that the support of voters in the area he had represented was eroding," he said.

According to Dr Jeniri, maybe many were shocked over the announcement but if seen from his political history, it was nothing new as he had contested in Melaka, Selangor, Penang and Perak to ensure his political survival.

Meanwhile, Johor Baharu Member of Parliament Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad said, the move by DAP revealed that DAP was dominant in the opposition pact.

He also questioned the slogan 'change' of the opposition in Johor because to him the development enjoyed by the people in the state currently was far better that those in opposition administered states, especially Penang.

Shahrir said, in this matter, the people in Johor, especially the Chinese, should make the best choice of whether the political scenario which the opposition tried to change was towards the better compared to what was being enjoyed currently, or otherwise.

Cynically Shahril said: "By right, Guan Eng should be the one to come (to contest in Johor) because a young man should bring much changes. For example in Penang the poor were so well looked after that no house for the poor are build because they have become rich, this is the value-added that we want".

-- BERNAMA