Gerakan eager to contest in KKB by-election

 

Gerakan is eager to contest the Kuala Kubu Baharu (KKB) by-election on May 11, said its president Dominic Lau.

So much so the party is nominating five possible candidates to compete with those put forward by its Perikatan Nasional allies Bersatu and PAS.

“We want to compare ours with the candidates from Bersatu and PAS. We have five candidates - can’t they win against those from Bersatu and PAS?

“We are prepared for, and determined to get the seat,” Lau told Malaysiakini, noting that the five candidates from the party comprise various races.

Lau cited five reasons to convince Gerakan’s allies why the party should be allowed to contest in the state seat.

Firstly, Lau said KKB voters would remember Gerakan as the party that contested the seat in the state election last year.

“Secondly, although we lost in the election, we did not close our service centre and continued to serve the people there,” he said.

Lau said thirdly, the mixed racial composition of the KKB state constituency makes it more suitable for Gerakan to contest, as it is a multiracial party with members from various ethnic groups.

By contesting in the election, Lau said Gerakan also wants to prove that Chinese votes are not a “fixed deposit” for DAP.

Lastly, the party chief said it would be more meaningful if Gerakan could win the KKB seat, as the party’s allies in PN had won two state seats under the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat, namely Hulu Bernam and Batang Kali, in the last state election.

‘PN is inclusive’

“If we win this by-election, it will prove that PN is inclusive,” Lau claimed.

The KKB state seat fell vacant following the death of its incumbent Lee Kee Hiong on March 21.

Lee, 58, who had been the KKB assemblyperson since 2013, had retained the seat for DAP under the Harapan banner in the state election last year. - Mkini