Diplomacy will take a back seat on Friday as Selangor DAP’s feuding factions gear up for a dinner showdown in their respective bids to win the hearts and minds of the state’s 1,008 delegates.

Sources within the two factions have described the battle royale as a pivotal outing that could decide the outcome of Sunday’s party polls in the state.

It is understo NONE od that the Justice Reform team – said to be led by Selangor state assembly speaker Teng Chang Khim (left) – was the first to make a move, having sent out invitations to all delegates to attend a dinner at a restaurant in Port Klang.

The move is seen as a final push to convince delegates to vote in a new mantle of leadership, after weeks of hard - albeit under the radar - campaigning by Teng and his supporters, who include Sekinchan assemblyperson Ng Suee Lim.

“We want to keep things quiet. We won’t reveal our arguments to the media because we don’t want to expose ourselves to any attacks,” said a source from the team.

The decision to hold the dinner in Klang is also a strategic move, considering the prevailing influence of sacked Klang councillor Tee Boon Hock, who counts among the team’s supporters.

Delegates invited will have to pay a set price for tickets, a point that they accuse the incumbent Unity team of exploiting in its 11th hour decision to counter-attack with a dinner of its own the same night.

The Justice team source claimed that their rivals deliberately chose the date in order to split attendance.

“They are worried about our team gaining momentum if we get a good turnout and swing the fence-sitters in our favour. They can have their dinner on Saturday, so why make it clash with ours? This is sabotage,” fumed the source, further claiming that the Unity team is inviting top national leaders to draw a crowd.

Outcome unpredictable

dj jamal hishammudin rais and teresa kok forum 270910 08 An insider with the Unity team, running under the wing of Selangor executive councillor Teresa Kok ( right ), did not deny the Justice team’s charge that they were trying to curtail attendance at the other dinner.

The source denied though that they are inviting top national leaders to their event at the Jaya 33 mall in Petaling Jaya, stressing that they are confident of drawing a good crowd under their own steam.

And as if to entice a greater attendance to their dinner, the Unity team is merely asking for donations of any amount from delegates and members who want to attend the closed-door dinner.

Both sides admitted that, despite their best efforts, no one can predict which way the votes will swing when it comes down to the ballot box.

selangor dap unity team As the Unity team source pointed out, the number of branches that qualify to send delegates to vote has more than tripled since the party’s last state polls, indicating a large proportion of new members voting for the first time.

“Both sides have been busy setting up new branches, but in the end you are talking about more than 100 new branches,” the source noted.

“The last time we had our state elections, we had around 40 branches. Now we have 144 that qualify to send delegates... we have no idea how these branches will vote.”