The battle for Bukit Gelugor in Penang will pit Barisan Nasional's (BN) Lim Boo Chang against DAP's Karpal Singh for the third time.

In the 1986 election, Karpal defeated Lim for the Jelutong parliamentary seat while in the last general election in 1999, the DAP deputy president lost to Lim ( right ) in his bid for the Dato Keramat state seat.

In a street poll carried out by malaysiakini on the contest for Bukit Gelugor , the respondents were equally divided over the candidate of their choice.

Of the 10 interviewed, five rooted for BN while the rest threw their weight behind the DAP veteran, who is also a prominent lawyer.

Those supporting the opposition candidate claimed that it was important to vote Karpal in to keep the ruling government in check.

Opposition voice

Lim Chew Meng, 32, said: "Of course I will support Karpal. We need DAP to represent us in Parliament and speak out what we want."

Another supporter, KS Ong, 45, claimed that the people needed an opposition voice to oppose harsh laws such as the Internal Security Act.

Whereas supporters in the other camp stressed that only BN had the resources to develop the constituency and Lim had a proven track record.

Zulkifli Zainal Abidin, 50, said: "Opposition only know how to talk and never know how to do".

Also echoing support for the ruling front, V Mahendran said DAP no longer has the power it once enjoyed in Penang.

"DAP is no longer strong, the opposition fights with each other and they also don't have major issues to talk about for this election.

"Karpal is good... but he is busy in his own business based in Kuala Lumpur. He is good in asking questions in Parliament but never takes care of our welfare," he added.

New seat

Bukit Gelugor is a new parliamentary seat created following the Election Commission's redelineation exercise last year. The racial breakdown of voters are Chinese (74.4 percent), Malay (15.6 percent), Indians (9.6 percent) and others (0.4 percent).

The voters comprise electorates shifted from the old Bayan Baru and Jelutong parliamentary seats. The former is a MCA stronghold held by its Penang state chief Wong Kam Hoong while is also controlled by BN via Gerakan's Lee Kah Choon.

Karpal's ceramah (political talks) have been drawing huge crowds but whether this display of support will translate into victory on polling day, is a big question mark.

Lim, on the other hand, has taken a more subtle approach for his campaigning. Instead of fiery talks, the MCA leader opts to visit houses and markets to secure support.

He also appears to have captured the support of non-Chinese voters as some 70 Indian voters turned up at his gathering two nights ago, where he promised to help the community resolve a temple issue.

The state government has expressed its intention to reclaim the land upon which the temple is located.

One issue that could swing the votes in favour of the opposition leader is the Penang Outer Ring Road (PORR) project, which will affect thousands of Bukit Gelugor voters.

Karpal has capitalised on this claiming that his rival did not represent the people because he chose to abstain from voting on the project at the state assembly.

However, Lim's abstinence was viewed by some as a courageous move by the MCA leader since the project was proposed by the BN state government.

Report by Beh Lih Yi, Teh Woei Fen and Qeok Yii Shing