MCA expects a tough fight in Ipoh Timur if DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang decides to make the primarily urban middle-class constituency his battle ground in the upcoming elections.

In a constituency like Ipoh Timur, the emergence of Lim will be seen as an 'acid test' on whether Chinese voters favour the opposition or BN, said its MP Thong Fah Chong.

"I think it will be a '50-50 chance'. It will be a tough fight," said the one-term incumbent who won the polls with a majority of 2,127 votes, or little more than five percent of votes cast.

However, Thong stressed that even if Lim comes to Ipoh, he is only likely to gain the "sympathy votes" from traditional hardcore opposition supporters who abandoned the party in 1999 because of its pact with PAS, rather than eat into MCA's electorate base.

Shoring its position

When contacted, Lim declined to confirm for certain if he would stand in Ipoh Timur, but gave strong indication that the proposal voiced last week by the party's Perak branch "has to be considered".

While it may seem that the veteran leader is keeping his choices open, DAP insiders have however revealed that the decision to field Lim in Ipoh Timur is more or less sealed.

"To put it rather crudely, Perak DAP for selfish reasons would want Lim in the state to shore up its position, which it needs now more than ever," one told malaysiakini .

Ipoh Timur is seen as one of the hottest Chinese-majority seats in Perak mainly because of its significance as an opposition dominated area from independence up until 1995.

Today, all Kinta Valley seats, with the exception of the Batu Gajah parliamentary and the Menglembu state seat, are under the BN.

Barisan Nasional currently dominates Ipoh with a clean sweep of both parliament and five state seats in 1999. The other parliament seat is the Ipoh Barat constituency.

Islamic state issue

Regardless of whether Lim will stand in Ipoh Timur, the opposition party is still expected to face strong criticism over its 1999 alliance with Islamic PAS - an issue which is believed to have cost DAP its Perak seats then.

Already, Thong has indicated that the Islamic state issue will continue to plague the party into 2004, despite the fact that DAP had relinquished all ties with PAS since 2001.

"I hope Ipoh voters will note the difference between BN policies and that of the opposition. They should remember that in 1999, DAP betrayed the Chinese by entering into an alliance with PAS.

"Yet today, they are talking about 'No to 929'. What nonsense are they talking about?" he said.

DAP's ' No to 929' campaign ' launched in Oct 2002 to counter the intensive competition between Umno and PAS to 'out-Islam' each other.

While DAP is focussed on the rights issue and secular rule, MCA however chose to emphasise on economic progress and stability, consistent with BN's trademark promise.

Council dissatisfaction

"As far as we are concerned, we have provided a stable government and development. While the opposition has criticised the lack of factories in the area, one has to understand that Ipoh is an urban area and administrative centre," he said.

"Ipoh cannot accommodate that, but what you do see are the new commercial centres and education opportunities in Perak as a whole."

Asked if growing criticism against the Ipoh city council - such as the recent revelation of overspending and financial mismanagement of city coffers - had negatively affect him, Thong said: "The council itself will have to justify that to the public, but I think the people will be wise enough to realise that I have delivered most of my election promises."

However, he added that the council mismanagement issue may have arisen because of City Hall's tight budget. The revenue given by the federal government may be "a little bit short", he said.

For the upcoming polls, the opposition is expected to exploit local dissatisfaction over council intransparence - such as the decision to purchase new 'pay-and-display' parking meters at an exorbitant RM34,000 price tag and last month's grounding of council vehicles because of failure to cough up petrol money.

According to the DAP, the 16 percent local assessment rate paid by Ipoh residents is the highest in the country.