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Saturday, April 13, 2013

RESPECT Wangsa Maju folk, don't fight like dogs over a bone - Kee Kwong scolds MCA, Umno


RESPECT Wangsa Maju folk, don't fight like dogs over a bone - Kee Kwong scolds MCA, Umno
PKR's Tan Kee Kwong slammed BN parties Umno and MCA for fighting over the Wangsa Maju seat, saying the constituency belonged to the residents there and politicians had no right to speak as if they "owned" the place.
"They are both talking nonsense and behaving as though the residents don't exist at all. To them, it is an ego trip and another seat in Parliament if they win. But what the voters want is service," Kee Kwong, who will be contesting Wangsa Maju for the Opposition, told Malaysia Chronicle.
"So is MCA right or is Umno right (that Wangsa Maju is theirs)? What I can tell you after working the ground here is that the residents will have a big surprise for BN. They are fed of the same old rotten brand of politicking and it is not only the Chinese who are rejecting MCA; the Malays in Wangsa Maju are on the point of political explosion - they want to get rid of Umno too."
MCA can "screech" but "big bully" Umno will get its way
Kee Kwong, the son of the late Mr Opposition Tan Sri Dr Tan Chee Khoon, knows his former BN colleagues well. He was previously the Deputy Minister of Land and Cooperative Development while still a Parti Gerakan member and a three-term parliamentarian for Segambut.
He left to join the PKR or the People's Justice Party led by Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim in 2008, after being blacklisted by Gerakan's late strongman Lim Keng Yaik for speaking out on a host of issues including the use of the Internal Security Act.
Certainly, Kee Kwong has many stories to tell and 'dark secrets' to share but he is most passionate when it comes to FELDA and PETRONAS, two national-owned agencies that he believes have been badly plundered by ruthless Umno leaders such as former premier Mahathir Mohamad.
According to Kee Kwong, the present tussle between Umno and MCA in Wangsa Maju and in many other seats across the nation was "typical" and set to worsen as the May 5 polling date neared. To him, MCA could "screech" all it wanted but "big bully Umno" was bound to win at the end of the day.
"There is no equal voice in BN and Umno can say anything but the other BN component parties cannot say what they want," said the youthful looking Kee Kwong, who is in his mid sixties.
Umno carved out "impregnable" Setiawangsa to benefit itself
A clear cut example was the way Umno "carved out" the Wangsa Maju constituency to benefit itself, said Kee Kwong.
In 1999, Wangsa Maju was a sprawling constituency that included the nearby Setiawangsa area. But due to gerrymandering by former premier Abdullah Badawi, Setiawangsa was turned into parliamentary seat to house the army and police voters. Zulhasnan Rafique, the former FT Minister, is the current MP for Setiawangsa.
"Because of the police and military votes, Setiawangsa was virtually impregnable and a 'safest of safe' seats for Umno. This is how they do things in BN. Fortunately, the army and policy votes are starting to move towards the Opposition and now even Setiawangsa cannot be taken for granted anymore," said Kee Kwong.
Wangsa Maju itself now has about 68,000 voters. It is a Malay-majority seat where about 56% of the electorate are from the Malay community. The Chinese are the next largest group, followed by the Indians. One of iconic landmarks of the area is the Wardieburn army camp, but Kee Kwong reckons military voters now number around 3,000.
Situated at the northeast border of Kuala Lumpur, the Wangsa Maju constituency consists mostly of residential areas from mature neighbourhoods to modern high-rises. An unmistakable sight is the Light Rail Transit or LRT track that snakes through the constituency, which is serviced by several major roads and highways such as the Middle Ring Road 2, Jalan Pahang and Duta-Ulu Klang Expressway.
It is not hard to see why many settled in this easily accessible area, where prices are generally much more affordable compared to the city centre, although that is very nearby. There is also a high student population in the vicinity and this has led to the mushrooming of food outlets that stay open until late at night including in Taman Desa Setapak and lately the new commercial shoplots along Jalan Genting Kelang.
The big fight: Kee kwong tipped for a comfy win
In the 2008 election, lawyer Wee Choo Keong won the Wangsa Maju seat (P116) on a PKR ticket with a wafer thin majority of 150 votes. Wee defeated MCA's Yew Teong Look, drawing 19, 637 votes versus the latter's 19,487. Voter turnout was 72.4%.
Wee, who fell out of voters' favor after controversially quitting PKR in 2010 to become a BN-friendly independent, is not expected to contest in the coming election. Even if he did, he is unlikely to secure many votes.
The big fight will be between Kee Kwong and the BN candidate to be fielded, with the PKR leader tipped for an comfortable win. Indeed, Kee Kwong's job may be made easier by the intensifying fight between the MCA and Umno over the seat.
"For PKR, it does not matter. I have been working the areas for 4 years now. Barring electoral fraud, everything is up to the voters. MCA and Umno should show a bit more respect to the feelings of the Wangsa Maju residents instead of fighting over the constituency like dogs over a bone," said Kee Kwong.
While MCA insists that Teong Look, who is their branch chief there, be fielded, Umno is adamant on Shafie Abdullah as the candidate. Shafie is the BN Wangsa Maju chief and Prime Minister Najib Razak's political secretary.
Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor even announced that MCA had "returned" the Wangsa Maju seat to his party, refuting allegations that ithey were "stealing" the seat from the MCA.
However, it is clear that MCA grassroots do not believe Ku Nan or Umno.
"There is no BN spirit now. Shafie has taken on as the BN chief (for Wangsa Maju). The next step is that they (Umno) will take our constituency. They don’t even discuss this with us!" Wangsa Maju MCA organising secretary Lim Choon Hong told a press conference held earlier this week.
Malaysia Chronicle

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