Perak Keadilan chief Dr Lee Boon Chye today cleared the air on the disputed Ipoh Timur seat, confirming his decision to contest there following DAP's rejection of what he described as Keadilan's "bottom-line" proposal on Tuesday involving three state seats.

"With the current scenario, negotiations (with DAP) is history," said Lee, adding that the party will now pursue four state seats in the Kinta Valley, instead of just three.

These are Tebing Tinggi (under Ipoh Timor), Bercham (under Ipoh Barat), Jelapang and Menglembu (both under Batu Gajah).

Notable among its candidates is former DAP leader and ex-Batu Gajah MP and Tebing Tinggi representative Foo Piew Kok, now Keadilan's state secretary.

Perak Keadilan youth vice chief Tan Seng Toh will be fielded in Bercham, Perak deputy chief Hew Yoon Tat for Menglembu, and state leader Lee Sing Long for Tebing Tinggi.

When Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham first said "no" to Keadilan's request for four state seats in the Kinta Valley, the latter came up with a final proposal on Tuesday: that it would drop its four state seats demand to just three: Jelapang, Bercham, and any state seat under the Ipoh Timur parliamentary constituency.

Keadilan wants to contest in these states seats but has yet to announce its candidates.

'No choice now'

Ngeh confirmed with malaysiakini yesterday that the proposal was "unacceptable", making clear there was no possibility of a deal between the two based on Keadilan's most recent offer.

Confirming this, Lee said today that the party will revert back to the initial plan of contesting Ipoh Timor, a position it had come to prior to DAP national chairperson Lim Kit Siang's decision to run in the same constituency.

"We have no choice now. If we don't contest in Ipoh Timor, Keadilan may see itself submerged in Ipoh when campaigns begin," he said.

In a thinly-veiled warning to DAP, Lee said the party will not hold back any punches in the three cornered contest - either against Lim or any other candidate - and will be ready to fight whoever leads the opposing camp.

"We are fighters. I have never won, so I am not scared of whether I lose or not. Whoever appears to be the leader will attract the most fire," he said.

Lee's entry into the polls is seen by observers as being a spoiler for veteran DAP strongman Lim Kit Siang in his attempt to wrest the seat from incumbent BN MP Thong Fah Chong.

It has been said that DAP's future will very much depend on the outcome of the Ipoh Timor contest - the party is under serious pressure to regain its foothold in opposition politics since failing to capture a number of Perak seats in 1999.

At the last polls, Thong took the predominantly middle-class Chinese seat of Ipoh Timor by a 2,127-majority.

This latest stand by the state Keadilan runs against the assurance given by party vice-president Tian Chua that his party would give way to Lim in the seat.

Responding to this, Lee said Tian Chua's offer was made in the hope that DAP would give up the three state seats sought by Keadilan.

However since an agreement could not be reached on this, he said the party was left with no choice but to contest the parliamentary seat.