YOURSAY 'So Chua Soi Lek is now saying that no one in MCA, not even he, is game enough to meet the DAP stalwart Lim Kit Siang?'

Soi Lek slips Ghani the bag on contesting Kit Siang

Dont Just Talk: Chua Soi Lek, as president of MCA and self-proclaimed leader of the Chinese community, you should be standing against DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang. How can you abdicate your leadership and pass the baton to Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman?

On a scale of 1 to 10 in terms of courage, Chua surely scores the lowest, 1. In contrast, Lim Kit Siang gave up a safe seat in Ipoh Timor to stand in Gelang Patah, and even if he fails in his bid, at least he is seen as a warrior in the eyes of Malaysians.

Banzai: It is a shame that MCA cannot handle DAP but has to leave it to Umno to do it.

Chua Soi Lek should contest the seat to show that MCA still has the support of the Chinese - it is deplorable that MCA hands over the seat to Umno although currently Gelang Patah is represented by MCA.

Chipmunk: So Chua is now saying that no one in MCA, not even he, is game enough to meet the DAP stalwart Lim. And now MCA has become the sacrificial lamb and has to let go of their seat to Umno to challenge DAP.

FellowMalaysian: Why is MCA not defending their seat? Because they do not have credible leaders to take on Lim? Both Chua and Youth chief Wee Ka Siong are from Johor. It appears they are both kiasi and kiasu.

Mr KJ John: I have said that Lim will win any seat he chooses to stand in; even against former PM Dr Mahathir Mohamad; as long as it is not a Malay-majority area.

He will win hands down in Gelang Patah; however the sultan must remain above politics and not campaign for Johor Menteri Besar Abdul Ghani Othman. But I hear that the sultan already backs incumbent Higher Education Minister Khaled Nordin.

Tembikai: Khaled Nordin as the chief minister of Johor? They must be joking. He can't even run the Higher Education Ministry well, let alone a state.

His quality is so low, for example for not even taking action against academic Ridhuan Tee Abdullah following concrete evidence of plagiarism. Local universities' rankings have declined drastically under him.

Recently he has even been implicated in some dubious dealings involving private universities. Please let him run against Lim Kit Siang. Let Lim get rid of him.

Riddance Tee: If Ghani wins, MCA will have no voice at all in BN in future. It will only show that MCA is a eunuch to emperor Umno.

It would be better for Chua to contest. Whether he wins or loses does not matter, at least MCA can hold its head up high.

John 3:16: I have my reservations about former MCA president Lee San Choon's 1982 victory in the Seremban seat over DAP's Chen Man Hin. There were reports that 'phantom' voters were called in to bring about the victory.

There were rumours also that Lee wanted to call it a day in politics and chose a tough seat to contest to enable him to graciously step down. The MCA in Seremban had other ideas and hence the wafer-thin majority.

As for Gelang Patah this round, it is clear that MCA will not be able to retain the seat but it is also dicey for Ghani to contest. He may be putting his head on the chopping block vis a vis the MB post if he does so.

No one wants an MB who loses to the opposition and is able to retain only a safe seat, and his political rivals in Umno know this too well.

Faz: The cat is out of the bag. Now we see all the factors in the political equations of Umno-BN, where the voters are just incidentals since any election must have voters and that's all they are there for, nothing more.

The jostling is about getting to the fore to get the prized MB appointment complete with pacifying the palace.

This dividend is enormous to the appointed MB and his inner circle as opportunity to be fabulously rich is there staring at you, in the ‘normal' subculture of Umno-BN political rewards.

The voters are there simply to lend legitimacy to the election process but not to be part of the equation to the benefits that follow. Folks, go for Pakatan-DAP this time.

At least the voters are wiser to expect the unexpected, as against the mundane outcome if Umno-BN wins, where you have a party that does not share the spoils and except for the chosen few.

Ynwa : I predict it will be game over for Chua or Ghani. The Chinese are sick of the discrimination in Johor, as are the Indians. The non-Malays quietly feel Umno Johor is all talk and arrogant inside.

How many non-Malays have been employed in the state civil service since GE 2008? The non-Malay civil servant intake ratio in Johor is the lowest in the country. Is this 1Malaysia? It's only empty promises.

As for the Iskandar region and Gelang Patah, the Orang Asli have been relocated and are very unhappy. Fishermen have complained their catch is down in Sungai Pulai due to irresponsible development and removal of the precious mangrove forests.

The Chinese businessmen want a new MB. Ghani is complacent, and the new sultan prefers a new MB as well.

Bamboo: BN's culture is that the biggest shot will pull the biggest cable for a safest seat to contest. They don't have guts like Lim Kit Siang.

So the MCA head is throwing the hot potato to the Johor MB to contest against Lim in Gelang Patah. I will see how Ghani fends off this hot potato.

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