With nomination day fast approaching for the country's 11 th general election, contenders, supporters and just plain watchers are girding their loins for an exciting period. The battle of the sexes takes centre stage up north in Perak while elsewhere 'boy scouts' take the rap for being either too old or to young. Malaysiakini 's News Roundup brings you the latest take from the Chinese and Malay dailies.

Perak MCA chief: 'I'm not against women'

MCA Perak chairman Ong Ka Chuan (right) has denied that his contest against DAP's youngest female MP, Fong Po Kuan (left) for the Batu Gajah parliamentary seat is going to be "a battle against women's rights" or "a contest to bully women."

Ong, 50, is the brother of MCA president Ka Ting. Ka Chuan has been a four-term state assemblyperson in Perak.

DAP's Fong, 31, was elected as a member of parliament in the 1999 general election at the age of 26. Since then, she has been enjoying positive media coverage with an image of 'the smart girl next door.' - Sin Chew Daily

To Sir with love?

A group of Chinese youths have set up their own election campaigning machinery to ensure the victory of their former teacher, Lee Kim Sin, who will contest under Keadilan's banner for the Kajang state seat in Selangor. The Chinese-majority seat was won by PAS against the then MCA incumbent in the 1999 polls.

Lee, a former DAP member and an activist for the Chinese education movement, completed his schooling at a local Chinese school before furthering his studies at a Taiwan university.

Kajang has a long history of Chinese political activism dating back to the 1930s. - Nanyang Siang Pau

PPP's star: Is it five or six points?

Two veteran members of the People's Progressive Party (PPP) have openly disputed their party's use of a five-point star claiming instead that the star should have six points.

According to them, when the PPP was registered in 1953, the star had had six points. The two veterans showed reporters old party documents and publicity materials to back up their claim.

PPP was founded and registered in 1953 as a centre-left, multi-ethnic opposition party by a group of lawyers, businessmen and civil servants who were influenced by Fabian socialism.

In the 1950s and 1960s, under the leadership of the renowned Seenivasagam brothers, PPP controlled most of the elected local councils in Perak, including the Ipoh Town Council. They were so popular that when DR Seenivasagam passed away just before the 1969 general election, his funeral procession was attended by more than ten thousand residents who formed a three-mile long line.

PPP's fortunes began to decline after it joined the Barisan Nasional in 1974. It is still a component party of the ruling coalition but has yet to be allocated any seats. - Nanyang Siang Pau

MCA's Michael: Politics not the only way

MCA's most famous member is not its president, ministers, or members of parliament but a salaried staff named Michael Chong. The chief of MCA's Public Complaints Bureau has been in the media limelight for the past 14 years and with good reason too, for his untiring work in helping those in need.

Chong has declined an offer to contest a state seat in Melaka during the forthcoming polls. He says that this is nothing new and that he has received offers in the past to contest on an MCA ticket.

"However, I think politics is not the only way of helping the people. There are other ways too." - Nanyang Siang Pau

DAP a 'Boy Scouts troop' now?

A columnist has slammed the DAP for looking more like 'a boy scouts troop' with its candidates line-up for the coming polls.

According to her, after being under supremo Lim Kit Siang for some 30 years, the DAP now faced an acute shortage of capable leaders and no clear line of generational succession.

According to her observation, the few top DAP leaders like Lim are too old while the middle-rank leaders are too young to be considered acceptable by voters.

She also noted that Lim and other DAP stalwarts like Karpal Singh have been criticised heavily for changing constituencies too often. - Nanyang Siang Pau