Soi Lek welcomes Kit Siang to contest in Johor
UPDATED @ 08:10:18 PM 26-04-2012
KUALA LUMPUR, April 26 — MCA president Datuk Seri Dr Chua Soi Lek openly welcomed Lim Kit Siang today to contest a seat in Johor as rumoured, adding that his party was not worried of a "DAP onslaught" in Barisan Nasional's (BN) frontline state.
But, he told reporters here, MCA feared that DAP would not "play according to the rules of the game" by spewing falsehoods to woo the Chinese community vote.
"We welcome anybody to contest in Johor because there is freedom to do so.. more so coming from a party like DAP where Lim Kit Siang is considered the supreme leader.
"We are not worried of a DAP onslaught... no... we are worried that they do not play according to the rules of the game... like I mentioned before in my debate with (DAP secretary-general) Lim Guan Eng, as far as giving false hopes is concerned, they get the Oscar award, hands down," he said at a press conference after chairing MCA's Central Committee meeting at the party's headquarters here.
"My greatest worry is that sometimes, voters can be misled by a party like DAP."
But on Lim, Dr Chua (picture) confidently claimed that he was certain the veteran DAP leader and Ipoh Timor MP would not seek a Johor seat in the coming polls but would not give his reason for saying so.
"You notice, he can contest anywhere... he changed from Malacca, to Perak, to Penang, to Perak again and now to Johor. We welcome him.
"But if you ask me, I say he will not.
"The reason, I will give you later, at an appropriate time and place," he coyly said.
Dr Chua, whose hometown and former parliamentary seat is also in Johor, also pointed out that Lim, a "respected senior parliamentarian", has been in the political arena for over 40 years.
He urged the Chinese to question this and decide if they felt that with Lim's long career in politics, the political position of their community had been enforced or eroded.
"This is a question the Chinese should consider," he said.
Media reports have hinted to the possibility that political heavyweights like Lim and even Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan may seek Johor seats in the coming polls. Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching is also rumoured likely to join the duo.
According to a report in The Star yesterday, Fong is said likely to seek a seat in Johor to be with her husband Johor DAP secretary Tan Chen Choon, who is tipped to contest the Bentayan state seat.
Citing a DAP official, the daily said that all three leaders contesting in Johor would be a great “morale booster” for Pakatan Rakyat (PR).
