DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng confirmed that Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong will be moving from Penang to contest the Kluang parliamentary constituency in Johor.

Liew will be the second big gun in the DAP’s arsenal following Ipoh Timor MP Lim Kit Siang’s decision to join the race for the Gelang Patah seat in the southern state.

liew chin tong kluang 300313 02 Guan Eng’s announcement at a ceramah in Kluang tonight did not come as a surprise as he had earlier dropped heavy hints that Liew would be contesting a Johor seat, the name of which begins with the letter ‘K’.

DAP Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching, who was at the ceramah, said Guan Eng kicked off his speech by asking the 2,000-strong crowd to guess the identity of the DAP candidate for Kluang.

"The crowd starting chanting Liew's name. When Guan Eng officially named Liew as the Kluang candidate, the atmosphere was electric," she told Malaysiakini when contacted by telephone.

Guan Eng subsequently urged the crowd to back Liew and the respond was a loud "Yes".

Replacing Liew in Bukit Bendera is likely to be Guan Eng’s political secretary Zairil Khir Johari. Liew won the seat in 2008 by a mammoth 16,112 majority against Penang Gerakan strongman Chia Kwang Chye.

Liew had last Friday made a farewell speech at the launch of the party's Bukit Bendera election centre, urging voters to throw their support behind the new candidate.

"I represent the people of Penang to contest in Johor. I am very happy to be able to become a part of history, and hope to assist the DAP to win the seats there," said the Kuala Lumpur-born parliamentarian.

"We hope to win enough seats to capture Putrajaya, we not only want to win nationally but want to win Putrajaya for all Malaysians.”

Expected to battle his ex-lecturer

azlan Liew is expected to meet MCA Kluang incumbent MP Hou Kok Chung, his former lecturer in New Era College. Hou is also higher education deputy minister.

Hou won the central Johor seat of Kluang in 2008 with 27,970 votes, defeating DAP's Ng Lam Hua by a 3,781 majority.

Based on the Election Commission June 2011 gazetted register, Kluang is a mixed constituency with the 82,824 voters made up of 51.8 percent Chinese, 37.31 percent Malay and 9.55 percent Indians.

Guan Eng has also issued a challenge to MCA vice-president and Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Gan Ping Sieu to contest against Liew in Kluang.

Gan, a senator, failed to win Mengkibol - a state seat under the Kluang parliamentary constituency, in 2008. A local like Hou, he is said to be eyeing Kluang.