KUALA LUMPUR (Feb 4): Selayang lawmaker William Leong Jee Keen says he is not worried about the possibility of defending his constituency against MCA heavyweight and deputy finance minister.
The PKR treasurer said he was confident that Senator Datuk Donald Lim Siang Chai will be contesting in the Selangor parliamentary seat but is not unduly worried about Lim's influence.
“I think he will be contesting here. He has been working really hard here but I am not worried.
“When I came here in 2008, the MP for Selayang was none other than Tan Sri Chan Kong Choy. He was the deputy president of MCA and he was a minister so right now if it is Donald Lim, he is only a deputy minister and chairman of Selangor MCA,” he told fz.com.
He added that Lim does not have the same calibre or popularity as the former transport minister.
“If you consider the two positions when I came in to fight in 2008, I was fighting somebody with a higher position. I am convinced that the people will continue to support us,” he said.
Chan won the Selayang seat in 2004 by 23,226 votes but stepped down from politics just before the 2008 general election, citing health reasons.
Leong then defeated MCA’s Lee Li Yew to capture Selayang in 2008 with a majority of 3,567 votes.
Lim, who has been the Petaling Jaya Selatan MP since 1999, lost his seat in 2008 to PKR’s Hee Loy Sian by 5,706 votes.
Leong also warned Lim that the people of Selayang are aware of why he was rejected in Petaling Jaya Selatan.
“I think there has been some talk as to why Donald Lim wants to come here when he has been contesting in Petaling Jaya Selatan so I think it is probably because he is not confident of winning there.
“But that doesn’t translate into me having less confidence in the people of Selayang. I think the people of Selayang will know how to choose wisely. No, I am not worried,” he said.
Leong admitted there has been a significant increase in new voters in the seat but was confident the numbers would not affect him retaining the former MCA stronghold.
“There is a huge number of new voters. That is 27, 000 but we are confident because Pakatan Rakyat (PR) in Selayang have registered 13, 000 over voters.
“And also those who are registered by BN, I don’t think it is an indication of their support. It could very well mean that those are registered by BN or others will still support us,” he said.
Leong also said that he has the full support of his party stepping into the 13th general election despite reports of discontent over his leadership.
It was reported that members of PKR had demonstrated and called for Leong’s resignation over the demolishing of hawker stalls at Jalan 26 in Selayang Baru.
However, Leong said that this was only a small matter and did not reflect the true sentiment of the Selayang residents.
“This is just a small of group of people. They have their reasons because the issue is in Jalan 26. What has happened was that we are converting the area into a park. And there is hawker there who is illegal and refuses to move.
“Unfortunately she has been misled by a few people, including members of PKR protesting, that she would able to get a title. So we have to continue with the project to clean up the construction work in Jalan 26 and the process of building a park. It is just a small issue,” he said.
Leong also gave a personal welcoming message to Lim: “We welcome you to Selayang and we like the people to have a choice of two good men.”
In the 2008 election, BN lost its customary two-thirds majority and lost five states including Selangor, which PR swept by taking 36 out of 56 state seats. PKR held the majority of 15 seats, followed by the DAP ad PAS taking 13 and eight respectively. MCA only managed to win two out of 14 seats contested.
| Leong: The people of Selayang are aware of why he (Donald Lim) was rejected in Petaling Jaya Selatan |