Gerakans candidate for the Ketari by-election in Pahang Yum Ah Ha today expressed confidence of winning tomorrows contest.

Yum, a 51-year-old lawyer and former police officer told malaysiakini that his eight-day campaign had been fruitful and that Ketari voters had given him a positive response.

Having the Barisan Nasional machinery behind me also helped greatly, said Yum who was dressed in a white short-sleeve shirt and a pair of walking shoes.

Yum was speaking to malaysiakini after making house calls in Kampung Bukit Tinggi located half an hour away from town, comprising mainly of Chinese farmers.

Based on the votes in 1999, some voters were not happy and they claimed that they also did not see enough of the wakil rakyat , Yum said.

Gerakans Loke Koon Kam defeated DAPs Choong Siew Onn with a slim majority of 231 votes in the 1999 general elections, and party president Dr Lim Keng Yaik had conceded that the party would be facing a tough fight this round.

The Ketari by-election was called when Loke succumbed to cancer earlier this month.

Choong, a 34-year old quality controller, will be contesting the state seat for the third time against the relatively new Yum.

Sympathy votes

The 1999 general elections also registered a substantial jump in Malay Malaysian votes for DAP, especially in the Mempaga, Benus and Janda Baik polling stations.

In Mempaga, a Felda scheme, DAP increased its tally from 10 votes in the 1995 polls to 545 in the last elections. Meanwhile, it increased its votes from 71 to 368 , and from 20 to 176 in Janda Baik.

However when questioned on this matter, Yum said the surge in votes for DAP was due to sympathy votes as a result of the arrest and incarceration of former deputy premier Anwar Ibrahim.

Most of the big issues have now been dealt with by the party leaders, including Pahang Mentri Besar Adnan Yaakob, Yum said.

Asked to comment on the allegation of phantom voters by DAP, he said it was a matter best left to the Election Commission and the police.

I dont think I need to comment on this for now as I do not have the facts and figures before me. This matter should be best left to the authorities, Yum said.

DAP national publicity secretary Ronnie Liu this afternoon revealed the state constituency saw a sudden jump of the number of voters in all areas with the exception of the long-time DAP stronghold of Kampung Perting.

He added that Genting Highlands has an increase of 300 registered voters, which is considered a Barisan Nasionals stronghold