DAP this afternoon unveiled its candidate line-up for all six parliamentary and 14 state constituencies in Johor, except for the Labis parliamentary seat.

DAP parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, who is also the candidate for Gelang Patah, refused to divulge any reason on why the Labis candidate was not named.

"It will be announced shortly" was all he willing to say when asked "why no name" during DAP's candidate announcement ceremony in Kulai.

lim kit siang story 1 Asked whether former senator S Ramakrishnan would be fielded in the BN stronghold, Lim maintained his answer to the earlier question.

Yesterday the names of three Johor MCA candidates were also withheld until this morning due to internal bickering.

BN is fielding caretaker deputy agriculture and agro-based industries minister Chua Tee Yong to defend his Labis stronghold.

According to Lim, negotiations with PKR over seats in Johor have been completed and DAP will contest six parliamentary and 14 state seats, although DAP initially demanded seven parliamentary seats.

In 2008, DAP contested six parliamentary and 12 state seats.

Asked about Johor DAP's target for the May 5 general election, state chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau said it hoped to win half of the 14 state seats, but he did not give any target for the parliamentary seats.

Besides Labis, another surprise was the candidate for Pekan Nenas , Yeo Tun Siong.

The 33-year-old former teacher was the first Johor candidate Lim named on March 30, for the Pengkalan Rinting state seat. However, Yeo has been moved to Pekan Nenas, where he was born.

Lim refused to shed light on this sudden change, apart from saying it was based on “strategic consideration”.

NONE It is believed that Yeo, who once taught in an independent Chinese secondary school in the Pengkalan Rinting, enjoys stronger grassroots support in Pekan Nenas and would be able to help DAP in capturing the parliamentary seat of Tanjong Piai .

The DAP has deployed a Malay candidate, Mahdzir Ibrahim ( left ), to square off with incumbent Wee Jeck Seng, a former deputy minister, in Tanjong Piai.

Twenty-nine-year-old sales manager Cheo Yee How will contest in Pengkalan Rinting, the biggest state constituency in Johor with more 60,000 voters, which comes under the parliamentary seat of Pulai , which will be contested by PAS vice-president Salahuddin Ayub.

Cheo, a political novice, said he was informed about the decision to field him only this morning but he was ready to do battle.

The five parliamentary candidates named today are former Bukit Bendera MP Liew Chin Tong ( Kluang ), Er Teck Hwa (incumbent, Bakri ), former Serdang MP Teo Nie Ching ( Kulai ), Mahdzir (Tanjong Piai) and Kit Siang ( Gelang Patah ).

NONE Being the only Malay DAP candidate in the state, Mahdzir told KiniTV that he joined the party to dispel the misconception that DAP is anti-Malay, and that he hoped the voters would support him based on the party's policies and not on his race.

Boo will defend his Skudai state seat while R Shanker, the sole Indian DAP candidate in Johor, will stand in Paloh state seat.

There are five women candidates in both parliamentary and state seats and they make up 25 percent of the DAP line-up.

The youngest is Johor Jaya candidate Liow Cai Tung, 27 ( above ), while the eldest is Lim himself, now aged 72.

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