It was supposed to be a straight fight between Barisan Nasional and DAP but then absent mindedness crept into the equation, and left the opposition in a fix.

The scene was the battle for the Pokok Assam state seat in Perak.

DAP candidate Chan Yew Meng filed his nomination at 10am sharp, the closing time for nomination while his opponent Ho Cheng Wang had submitted his earlier.

Just when supporters of both parties were gearing up for the contest, a shocking turn of events transpired. Chan had forgotten to bring along his RM5,000 deposit!

This led returning officer Jamaluddin Al-Amini to reject his nomination and declare the BN candidate as the state assembly person once the objection period ended at 11am.

The news was met by a thunderous applause from the ruling front's supporters.

Failed talks

Meanwhile, Yoon Szu-Mae reports that last minute negotiation blunders between DAP and Parti Keadilan Rakyat (Keadilan) could have cost DAP the seat.

According to state party leaders, the parties agreed yesterday evening that Keadilan would not take up DAP's offer to contest the seat.

But all round late decisions, said Perak DAP chief Ngeh Koo Ham, made it difficult for DAP to secure a candidate and to overcome any nomination technicalities.

He said the first candidate his party approached last night, only informed of his change-of-heart at 8am today - two hours before the Election Commission stops receiving nominations.

A second DAP candidate - Chan - was then dispatched to the nomination centre and managed to make it just on time, only to leave his deposit money behind.

According to a Bernama report, Ho when met by reporters later said he did not expect to be returned unopposed.

The Perak MCA Organising Secretary said he received a call from Perak Menteri Besar Tajol Rosli Ghazali urging him to campaign for other BN candidates since there is nothing more to do in his constituency.

In the 1999 general election, Ho won the seat after defeating DAP candidate Mah Hocheng by 5,749 votes.

Taiping seat

Meanwhile, Jamaluddin also announced that the nomination papers of three candidates had been accepted for the Taiping parliamentary seat election.

The trio are BN/PPP candidate M. Kayveas, DAP's Ong Chee Keng and Parti Rakyat Keadilan's (Keadilan) P Annah Dorai

There will also be a three-cornered fight in the state seat of Kamunting which is within the Taiping parliamentary constituency.

The BN candidate for Kamunting is Dr Abdul Malek Mohamed Hanafiah who is the Perak State Executive Councillor for Islamic Affairs and Education, PAS candidate Mohamad Ghazali Tain and Independent S Simon Uthaya.

Another state seat within Taiping is Aulong. Here too a triangular fight is on the cards between BN's Ng Chii Fa, Abdul Rahman Uda Mat Isa (Keadilan) and Yew Tian Hoe (DAP).