Members of the faction aligned to Perak DAP deputy chief M Kulasegaran has claimed that state party chief Ngeh Khoo Ham’s camp today shunned the supposed ‘peace talks’ planned by party leaders.

According to a party insider, party parliamentary whip Lim Kit Siang were to mediate the talks between the rival factions in Ipoh today.

The source claims that while Kulasegaran’s camp was ready for the talks allegedly mooted by Lim, rivals Ngeh and state DAP secretary Nga Kor Ming were reluctant to participate.

When contacted, Ngeh dismissed the existence of the ‘peace talks’ altogether, adding that the media had painted a crisis in Perak DAP when there was none, just because the party will be electing office bearers this weekend.

“This is a democratic process. We have elections every two years. I’m not sure why the media is reacting like this,” said Ngeh.

When contacted about the supposed peace talks, Lim declined to comment.

This Sunday, Perak DAP delegates will elect 15 committee members from a pool of 40 candidates. It is a game of high stakes as the team that gains the majority of the seats will decide on the posts that the elected committee members eventually hold..

Though normally a tame affair, the polls this year will see two powerful factions led by Ngeh and Kulasegaran respectively clamouring for domination of the state leadership.

However, both camps have been accusing each other of undermining his opponent as well as illegally trying to increase each other’s vote bank.

The rivalry came to a boiling point last month with Kulasegaran threatening to quit his position in protest and to make public the matter, eventually backing down after Lim intervened and called for a cooling-off period for both sides.