Kuala Lumpur has long been fruitful ground for DAP and nowhere is this more evident than in Kepong where 90 percent of voters are Chinese with decidedly middle to lower middle-class backgrounds.

The man that has kept this area firmly in opposition hands since 1982 is none other than DAP's straight-talking vice-president Dr Tan Seng Giaw who has served as the constituency's member of parliament for five uninterrupted terms.

This year, he is aiming for a sixth term to further affirm his position as the longest-serving MP in Kuala Lumpur but his task is not expected to be easy despite his long association with the area.

Tan, after all, hung on to his seat in 1999 with barely 2,000 votes cast by the 60,000 voters registered in Kepong. His opponent, Gerakan's Ma Woei Chyi, is also staying put in the area to make good of his bid to oust Tan.

Met yesterday at his office, Tan - a medical doctor and dermatologist by profession - appeared unconcerned by the challenge posed and was unapologetic in saying that he would not pander to popularism by promising to solve all of his constituents' everyday problems.

Without fear or favour

"I am concerned with local issues such as the roads, traffic jams or health matters. For instance, if people call me with a complaint about rubbish collection, I will call Alam Flora. But it is not my job to start with. That is the work of a municipal worker.

"Let's be clear about the duties and obligations of an MP. An MP's job is to scrutinise legislation, the revenue and expenditure of the country and the public servants. He raises major issues of the land and educates the public about it.

"I have never promised my constituents anything except that if elected, I will go to Parliament and speak without fear or favour," he said.

Tan said that too often in the past, his challengers had tried to take credit for development projects carried out by the government even though these are beyond the scope of an MP's abilities or responsibilities.

"As far as development is concerned, it has nothing to do with the MP. We just supervise and scrutinise what goes on.

"For 2004, the City Hall budget for development of Kuala Lumpur is RM2 billion. The revenue of KL is only about RM800 million. So the rest has to come from the (Prime Minister's Department's) Economic Planning Unit (EPU).

"How much influence do you think an MP has over the EPU? Zero!" he asserted.

For added measure, Tan said although Kepong has been firmly under DAP's belt for more than 20 years, the area has seen rapid development which altered the landscape of the northern suburbs.

"If you compare Kepong in the 1970s and now, it is a different world. There are major roads criss-crossing the areas, there is the commuter link. There are also plans for an LRT (Light Rail Transit) or monorail service to be set up," he said.

In fact, Tan said in previous occasions where he had successfully obtained allocation for new infrastructure such as a multi-storey market at Jinjang North, the project had to be delayed because of opposition by local traders.

David and Goliath battle

Describing his constituents as seasoned voters, Tan said it would be difficult to pull wool over their eyes with the "glib promises" that he claimed are often made by his rivals.

"The people of Kepong have always felt that there must be a strong opposition in Parliament.

"They have been cheated in 1978 (by Gerakan's) Tan Tiong Hong. He made so many promises that he never fulfilled. It was the same thing with (Gerakan deputy chairperson) Kerk Choo Ting. And now Ma. Do you think the people of Kepong are big fools?"

Tan said he came closest to losing in 1982 when he contested against Kerk, who came armed with the support of influential Chinese educationist movement Dong Jiao Zong (DJZ).

"It was a tremendous fight (between) David and Goliath. Kerk's slogan in Mandarin was very, very attractive. It was 'Go into BN, change the BN. Go into the government, change the government'.

"I too was Chinese educated and friendly with the educationists but they said they had to drop me for the basic principles, and for honour and dignity. But I won still," he said.

As for the less-than-enthusiastic support for him in 1999, Tan attributed his marginal victory to two key factors: DAP's tricky alliance with PAS and its lack of access to popular media.

"We were hamstrung over the Islamic state issue. Over 50 percent of the new voters aged around 21 or 22 years were also in support of BN... It is difficult (to reach voters) because media is not for us," he said.

Nevertheless, the DAP veteran is confident of a better showing this elections. Rival Gerakan will definitely be raising the issue during campaigning but Tan said his defence will be simple.

"Who announced Islamic state in this country? It was (former Prime Minister Dr) Mahathir Mohamad. He made the declaration at the Gerakan convention (in September 2001), and Gerakan supported it," he said.

Fresh mandate

On DAP's ambitions in Kuala Lumpur , Tan, who is also the party's Kuala Lumpur chief, said DAP is still pondering whether to contest in another one or two seats, possibly Segambut and Bandar Tun Razak.

In 1999, DAP fielded M Manoharan to contest in Segambut but the latter lost out to Gerakan vice-president Dr Tan Kee Kwong.

Tan also cleared the air over speculation that DAP is also aiming to contest for the Batu seat, which is presently held by another Gerakan MP Ng Lip Yong.

Questioned if there was likelihood for first-timer Susann Chan to contest in Batu, Tan said, "I don't think so. It is not much point wasting energy. Why should we go there and (make the) sacrifice?"

He evaded questions on potential contestants for Segambut and Bandar Tun Razak, saying that the party has yet to finalise its candidature.

"I don't know yet if (Manoharan) will be fielded again. We still have until March 13 to decide. A week in politics is a long, long time," he said.

The Election Commission put an end to months of speculation on Friday by announcing that the 11th general election will be held on March 21 and that nomination day will be held this Saturday.

The outcome of the polls will be highly significant for new Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi who is seeking a fresh mandate for his administration.