Gerakan 'lends' three seats to others
Gerakan will 'lend' the right to contest in three seats to other BN component parties in a one-off arrangement for the 13th general election.
Gerakan will 'lend' the right to contest in three seats to other BN component parties in a one-off arrangement for the 13th general election.
The three seats are Kepong (parliamentary seat, on 'loan' to PPP), Kota Alam Shah (state seat, on 'loan' to PPP) and Skudai (state seat, on 'loan' to MCA).
In a press release today, Gerakan president Koh Tsu Koon said that the decision to do so was based on "BN's overall strategic considerations".
Koh said that the move was also designed to maintain BN's spirit of goodwill to allow every BN component to contest some seats.
He also announced that for the first time ever, Gerakan will be fielding two candidates in Sabah in the form of Aw Kam Wah and Raymond Tan Shu Kiah for the Elopura and Tanjong Papat state assembly seats respectively.
The duo won the seats as members of Sabah Progressive Party (SAPP). Following SAPP's decision to quit the BN coalition, Aw and Tan joined Gerakan.
Mostly new faces
In Pahang, Gerakan had engaged in an "exchange-loan" agreement with MCA involving the Tanah Rata and Ketari state seats, in another one-off arrangement.
Tanah Rata is traditionally contested by MCA, while Gerakan usually contests in Ketari.
However, an Independent had won in Tanah Rata and subsequently joined Gerakan.
Meanwhile, Koh announced that of the 42 candidates fielded by Gerakan, 22 (52.4 percent) are new faces.
Five candidates (12 percent) are women, while three (seven percent) are of Indian origin. The youngest candidate is 31 years old.
In 2008, Gerakan won two parliamentary seats and four state assembly seats, down from 10 parliamentary seats and 30 state assembly seats won in 2004.
Heavyweights go to state seats
Meanwhile, People's Progressive Party ( PPP) president M Kayveas announced that his party would contest the Kepong parliamentary constituency in Kuala Lumpur.
It will also contest four state seats - Kota Laksamana, Guchil, Pasir Bedamar and Kota Alam Shah.
Despite the final list being released, Kayveas said the Kota Alam Shah seat in Selangor and Pasir Bedamar seat in Perak would have back-up candidates.
"Kota Alam Shah will be between (PPP vice-president) Maglin Dennis D'Cruz and a journalist who I will not name," he said.
Kayveas ( right ) said PPP leaders were going for the two state seats as they wanted to help keep Perak and win back Selangor.
However, he noted, all the seats PPP was given to contest were those that were lost in the last general election.
PPP's confirmed candidates are A Chandrakumanan (Kepong), Chiw Tiang Chai (Kota Laksamana), Kerk Guan Chuan (Pasir Bedamar) and Nik Sapeia Nik Yusof (Guchil).
Meanwhile, Sabah-based Liberal Democratic Party (LDP) president Liew Vui Keong said he was satisfied as the party would contest one parliamentary seat and four state seats.
"We will get one extra seat, which is Likas, and we also got back Karamunting. So, in total we have five seats," Liew said.
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