Will Kit Siang face Shahrir?

PRESS

FOLLOWING DAP’s decision to parachute a number of its heavyweights into MCA strongholds, the question being asked is: “Will party strongman Lim Kit Siang join the fray?”

So far, the Gelang Patah MP has kept everyone guessing amid speculation that he will take on Tan Sri Shahrir Abdul Samad in Johor Baru.

Based on the seat allocation announced by Pakatan Harapan chief Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad earlier, PKR will contest in Johor Baru but a DAP source said the consensus among the component parties is that seats to be contested by party chiefs are “negotiable”, meaning it is possible for Lim to contest in Johor Baru if it is deemed necessary, reported yesterday.

But the problem now is if Lim wants to contest in Johor Baru, the party does not appear to have any seat left to swap with PKR given the unlikelihood that DAP would want to give up Gelang Patah or any of its other 31 parliamentary seats in the Peninsular.

In the 13th general election (GE13), Lim parachuted into Gelang Patah to beat then mentri besar Tan Sri Abdul Ghani Othman by more than 14,700 votes.

The team of parachute candidates he led into the southern state also took three other parliamentary and 13 state seats.

This time around, DAP is taking a bolder step to move its heavyweights away from their comfort zones to challenge MCA stalwarts.

To boost their morale, Lim might lead by example by taking on Shahrir on the latter’s turf, where he retained his seat in GE13 although all three Barisan Basional state seats under Johor Baru fell to the opposition onslaught.