PETALING JAYA, May 2 — DAP now has two by-elections to contend with following the deaths of Bukit Gelugor MP Karpal Singh in mid-April and Teluk Intan MP Seah Leong Peng yesterday.
Against a backdrop of voter profile where 44 per cent are Chinese, 36 per cent Malays, 19 per cent Indians and the remaining others, DAP outwardly seems to have a good chance of retaining the Teluk Intan seat.
This is further enhanced with one of the two state seats ― Pasir Berdamar ― traditionally a DAP powerhouse that Barisan Nasional has not managed to capture in the past several elections.
The other state seat, Changkat Jong, a Malay-majority area, is held by BN through Umno.
Putting aside the strength of the opposition in the state seat, DAP is expected to still retain the parliamentary seat going by Seah’s good service record.
A non-controversial man, who was friendly and liked by friends and political foes in Teluk Intan, word has it that he served the constituents well regardless of race and political affiliation.
A local Umno politician, who declined to be named, said Seah, who was a lawyer by profession, was well-liked and very active in serving people.
He said Seah mingled well with the people as he was young, and there were no complaints about his public service.
As for BN which will be fielding a Gerakan candidate, probably Datuk Mah Siew Keong again, it is expected to be an uphill task to win over the constituents, given Seah’s good services.
“It is a matter of personality and his service, not much of political inclination the way I see it,” said the Umno man.
