There is a good chance that a by-election will be called for the Batu parliamentary seat, but Umno apparently is not eyeing the seat, despite it helming the Batu BN division.

Batu Umno division deputy chief Ramlan Salleh told Malaysiakini that Umno would not stake a claim to the seat because it was traditionally contested by BN component party Gerakan.

“It doesn’t matter to us. We will accept whoever the BN leadership picks to contest... We have already told our supporters to back Gerakan and they have accepted it,” Ramlan said.

He said the Batu Umno division would back any candidate fielded by Gerakan because a BN win was paramount.

Batu Umno division chief Yahya Mat Ghani was appointed Batu BN division chief on Feb 26, sparking fears within Gerakan that it would lose its right to contest there.

Currently, BN and rival Pakatan Rakyat are gearing up for a possible by-election because the incumbent, Tian Chua, was fined RM2,000 by a court recently for assaulting a police officer.

Will they honour the BN spirit?

There is an ongoing dispute on whether the fine would automatically disqualify Chua as MP, but things should be clearer in the coming days.

azlan Should a by-election be called, Gerakan Youth chief Lim Si Pin believes his party would most likely be asked by the BN leadership to contest, instead of Umno

“If we believe in the BN spirit, Gerakan will still contest there, even though the division BN chairperson is from Umno.

“Judging from the status quo we saw in the Hulu Selangor and Sibu by-elections, I believe that Batu will remain a Gerakan seat,” he said.

Chua beat Lim - son of former Gerakan chief Lim Keng Yaik - in the racially-mixed seat, located north of Kuala Lumpur, with a thumping majority of 9,455 votes.

The constituency of 67,652 voters comprises 44.3 percent Malays, 40.8 percent Chinese and 14.3 percent Indians.  

Asked on the possibility of him contesting again, Lim hinted that he might have to make room for another candidate, citing the Hulu Selangor by-election as an example.

“Anything can happen in Batu,” said Lim.

Despite heavy lobbying by MIC, BN top leadership refused to accept the party’s nominee and party deputy president G Palanivel as the coalition’s candidate for the contest.

Tought fight for BN

However, he brushed off suggestions that his 2008 defeat would affect his chances of being fielded again.

Regardless of the candidate, Lim conceded that should a by-election be called, BN will face a tough battle against PKR.

"It would be tougher than Hulu Selangor and Sibu. We lost 9,000 votes in last general election, I don't know whether we stand chance."

He pointed out that local issues - particularly housing woes - have not been resolved since the last general elections.

Lim, who lost to Chua in the 2008 battle for the seat, said if a by-election was called, it would be a major test for Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak’s popularity among the highly urbanised, yet largely working class electorate.

“We’ll see if the 72 percent approval rating for the PM will be reflected. It will be a test case for us,” he said.

Meanwhile, Ramlan expressed optimism that BN was capable of capturing the seat because Umno had done tremendous groundwork recently.

"People in Batu had changed. Now they support BN because we work very hard to provide them with infrastructures and assistance. There is no problem in the constituency," he said.