Bentong town in Pahang is rife with speculation that the Ketari state seat is up for grabs as Barisan Nasional state assembly representative Loke Koon Kam is expected to vacate his seat due to a prolonged illness.

The Keadilan Pahang branch has even publicly announced its interest in contesting the seat.

In a press statement today, Keadilan Pahang information chief Mohd Jefri B Rashid claimed that the ruling Barisan Nasional government had started campaigning in the predominantly Chinese area since last month.

There are signs that there is going to be a by-election soon. We are taking the stand that we are going to contest in Ketari as soon as the state assembly representative vacates his seat, said Jefri.

Gerakans Loke has served as the Ketari representative for three terms. In the last general elections in 1999, Loke beat DAPs Choong Siew Onn by a narrow 231 votes, garnering 5,874.

Ketari, which has a constituency of 16,434, is located in Bentong and include the popular hill resort of Genting Highlands, known for its vast hotel and casino complexes.

According to a Gerakan official, Loke has been suffering from jaw cancer since early 2001. He has been advised by the party leadership to retire from his party post as Gerakan Pahang chairperson.

However, it is uncertain if and when Loke would retire or step down from his state assembly representative post.

DAP interested

When contacted, Keadilan secretary-general Sahri Bahri said the party has not met to discuss the matter.

Although Jefris request will be taken seriously, it is with due respect to the state assembly representative that we do not want to speculate or pre-empt the matter, he told malaysiakini .

DAP secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock said if the seat was vacant, the party will contest for it as the partys past candidate had done rather well in the last elections.

Gerakan secretary-general Chia Kwang Chye was in a meeting and unavailable for comment.