As the race for the new parliamentary seat of Batu Kawan in Penang enters its final lap today, it appears that Keadilan's Law Choo Kiang could just pull through, ahead of BN's Huan Cheng Guan.

Law, 34, is well-known locally as a mother-tongue activist and given that Batu Kawan is a mixed seat, his biggest advantage is his ability to communicate well in three languages - English, Malay and Mandarin. On top of that, he is also conversant in Cantonese, Hokkien and Teochew.

Batu Kawan sees a three-cornered fight between Law, Huan and DAP's A Tanasekharan. The seat of 42,890 voters, located in the southern Perai district, is a mixed constituency with Chinese (56.3 percent), Indian (22.8 percent) and Malay (20.5 percent).

It is learnt that Law's ceramah have been receiving warm responses from the constituents who are said to be attracted by his good oratory skill although he is a newcomer in politics.

Law is also contesting the Bukit Tengah state seat under Batu Kawan.

In appealing for support, Law stressed that Keadilan is a multi-racial party which will look after the interests of all races.

Keadilan president Dr Wan Azizah Wan Ismail, vice-presidents Azmin Ali and Tian Chua also turned up in Batu Kawan to rally support for Law.

The Penang-born Law is also Wan Azizah's special assistant. At the ceramah , she described Law as "hardworking, helpful and energetic" and is a young and new icon for the "new politics" espoused by Keadilan..

A delegation from the Kuala Lumpur's Damansara Save Our School committee also campaigned for Law in appreciation of his commitment for education issue.

'Money politics' allegations

Meanwhile, the allegations of money politics making its rounds in Batu Kawan against Huan could also work in Law's favour.

Huan, 43, has been an assistant to former Penang deputy chief minister Dr Ibrahim Saad.

"As far as I am concerned, the allegations are just allegations, they are baseless," he said when contacted by malaysiakini.

Huan, the Penang Gerakan Youth chief, is also making his electoral debut.

Conceding that the contest for Batu Kawan is a tough one, he however expressed confidence that his past three years of service as a Seberang Perai district councillor could help him win the seat.

He pledged to bring more development to the people if elected.

Meanwhile, DAP's Tanasekaran described his chances as 50-50, but expressed concern that the three-cornered fight may split the opposition votes.

The 48-year-old lawyer is an old hand is electoral contests. He contested the Batu Uban state seat in Penang in1986 but was defeated by Gerakan's Khee Phaik Chen.

He joined the DAP in 1981 and is now the party's state vice-chairperson.

He runs a legal aid centre in Bukit Mertajam.