Selangor DAP shuffle may see Ean Yong, Teng moved to 'tough' seats

GE14 | Although DAP had a clean sweep in Selangor during the 2013 general election, the party is expected to face some difficulties replicating its success this time around.

Some of the state seats, although won with respectable majorities in 2013, are now considered "grey areas" – the local political parlance for seats that are difficult to win.

In view of this, Selangor DAP's strategy may entail relocating "heavyweights" to these "grey areas".

Discussions are now centred on the possibility of moving two of the party's state cabinet members Ean Yong Hian Wah and Teng Chang Khim to Kuala Kubu Bahru and Sungai Pelek respectively.

According to a party source familiar with the discussions, although DAP won Kuala Kubu Bahru with a 1,702 vote majority in 2013, the voter population there has increased by 26 percent.

"It appears that the bulk of these new voters were transferred from the BN stronghold of Batang Kali," said the source.

As for Sungai Pelek, the impending multi-cornered fight – which will involve candidates from at least Pakatan Harapan, PAS and BN – is expected to put DAP on the back foot.

This is because Sungai Pelek is one of the rare Malay-majority seats where DAP would be fielding a candidate, with PAS expected to take a significant portion of the Malay votes.

DAP won all four parliamentary seats and 15 state seats it contested in Selangor in 2013. Kuala Kubu Bahru and Sungai Pelek are top of MCA's list of winnable seats for BN.

Apart from these two state seats, Selangor DAP also views Sekinchan as a "grey area", said the source, but it is likely to be status quo for the three-term incumbent Ng Suee Lim.

When contacted, Teng said he was in the dark over discussions on his relocation.

"I don't know about this. (It shows that) I am only a figurehead Selangor DAP vice-chairperson.

"And since there are three grey areas, why only mull to transfer two exco members instead of three? I question the veracity of your source," the five-term Sungai Pinang state lawmaker said.

Yong, the two-term Seri Kembangan lawmaker, declined to comment when contacted. -Mkini