It looks like DAP renegade Goh Kheng Huat will officially cross over to Keadilan very soon, taking along with him the Nibong Tebal parliamentary seat which he is likely to defend at the coming polls.

According to Penang Keadilan chief Dr Mansor Othman, the party has submitted to its national headquarters yesterday the request for Goh to become a Keadilan member.

"We definitely welcome (Goh) into Keadilan. We have already submitted his form to the central committee," said Dr Mansor.

The party will await a formal decision in one or two days' time, he said.

Most likely a rubber stamping process, Keadilan is also expected to announce Goh's candidacy for Nibong Tebal before nomination day on March 13.

However, when contacted today, Goh said he is still in the midst of consulting his grassroots, but will make clear his position before nomination day.

Widely expected

Goh, who have been making public appearances with Keadilan leaders for the past few years, finally sealed what was already widely expected when he announced his decision to quit DAP on Thursday.

He claims that he was sidelined since 1998, after being blamed for involvement in the 'Knock Out Kit Siang' (KOKS) campaign led by former DAP leader and now MDP secretary-general Wee Choo Keong, to force then secretary-general Lim Kit Siang to give way to younger party leaders. Lim is currently DAP's national chairperson.

More recently, Goh was slammed by his party for actively campaigning for Keadilan during the Indera Kayangan by-election in Jan 2002, after the party had officially left the BA coalition.

By then, Keadilan had already announced that it would be happy to take in Goh if the DAP sacks him for recalcitrance.

Goh's quit decision comes as a blow to Penang DAP, as the party has been struggling at the polls for the past two terms since the failure of their Tanjung campaigns to wrest control of the state's administration.

In 1999, the one-term incumbent beat a Gerakan candidate by 1,856 votes - a majority of 4.6 percent.

Goh obtained 20,732 votes, compared to BN candidate Dr Kang Chin Seng's tally of 18,876. An independent candidate obtained 942 votes.

The other DAP parliamentary seats in Penang are held by Chow Kon Yeow (Tanjung), Chong Eng (Bukit Mertajam) and Lim Hock Seng (Bagan).