— Lim Mun Fah
The Malaysian Insider
March 25, 2013

MARCH 25 — The MCA had never strategically anticipated that DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang would contest the Gelang Patah constituency. Initially, the MCA thought the proposed move was nothing more than a smokescreen, but to their surprise it turned out to be true. Having been caught on the hop, the MCA subsequently has to review it strategy.

If you go through past records of national elections, you will find that the Gelang Patah constituency is one of the most invulnerable bastions of the MCA. Both the MCA’s Chang See Ten @ Teu Si and Tan Ah Eng were elected as they are earnest service-oriented figures. Theoretically, Gelang Patah ought to be a safe constituency for the MCA. But the cruel fact is that Gelang Patah has been restive due to internal factional conflicts over the past 10 or more years: Chang fell in the conflicts, and so did Tan.

The MCA’s optimal contestant for the Gelang Patah constituency is Teoh Sew Hock, who started out as a grassroots member and rose all the way up to Gelang Patah MCA division chairman. Initially, the MCA thought that Teoh’s opponent would either be PKR’s Chua Jui Meng, or the DAP’s Liew Chin Tong or Dr Boo Cheng Hau. Now, the MCA has to change it strategy, I believe.

Talk that the MCA will assign somebody else, say, a heavyweight figure to replace Teoh, is rife nowadays. Who will that be? Chua Soi Lek or Wee Ka Siong?

Chua Soi Lek would be a more worthy MCA candidate and the contest would see a clash of heavyweights in Gelang Patah just like what had happened in 1982 when Tan Sri Lee San Choon challenged Dr Chen Man Hin in Seremban, and Lim Kit Siang contested against Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu at in Padang Kota in 1990.

Another thing comes to the mind: is this clash of the heavyweights masterminded by the DAP?

If I were asked abaout the possibility of Chua Soi Lek contesting, my reply would be “politically, it is always possible.”

The MCA was left with 15 parliamentary seats and 31 state seats after the March 8, 2008 general election. Seven of the parliamentary seats are from Johor. In other words, Johor actually holds 50 per cent of the MCA’s strongholds. The MCA should know that Lim Kit Siang isn’t merely focusing on the Gelang Patah constituency. His ultimate goal is to achieven a breakthrough for Pakatan Rakyat to secure Putrajaya eventually.

The MCA cannot afford to lose Johor. So is it with BN. Lim Kit Siang’s southern campaign has come as a fitful tornado. What the MCA and BN have to do is to prevent it from turning into a tsunami. — mysinchew.com