Incumbent BN Wangsa Maju representative Yew Teong Look is incompetent and voters should reject him outright on polling day, charged his challenger Wee Choo Keong last night.

“If he is doing his job, why so many complaints? The complaints are the proof that he is not doing his job,” said Wee during a PKR-organised ceramah in Section I, Wangsa Maju.

barisan rakyat 230208 wee choo keong Wee, the secretary-general of the Malaysian Democratic Party, is contesting under the PKR ticket in this urban seat in Kuala Lumpur which has 52.4 percent Malay, 39.8 percent Chinese, eight percent Indian voters.

Talking to a most Chinese crowd of about 2,000, Wee continued his attacks on Yew by pin-pointing the BN representative’s poor grasp of the national language.

Wee said that he was confused as to how a candidate who was not fluent in the Malay language can help solve his voters’ problems in Parliament, and in the process showing off his own proficiency in the national language. Wee then spoke in Malay throughout his 30-minute ceramah.

wangsa maju parliamentary seat It was obvious that he was trying to target Malay voters. On this, he was also aided by the presence of PKR’s de facto leader Anwar Ibrahim, who also spoke about the injustices that Wee suffered.

“The last time the judicial system was corrupted, Choo Keong was chased out of Parliament. Now, it's the time to vote him back to justice,” Anwar told the cheering crowd.

He was referring to a controversial court decision in 1995 which quashed Wee’s victory in the Bukit Bintang parliamentary seat. The court gave the seat to his challenger, BN candidate Dr Lee Chong Meng, without calling for a by-election.

In the recent Lingam tape controversy, the 1995 decision came into the spotlight when it emerged that the judge who made the ruling - recently retired chief justice Ahmad Fairuz Sheikh Abdul Halim - could have been influenced by the government.

Untrue and unfair accusations

While the crowd that attended the ceramah nodded in agreement and clapped thunderously when both Wee and Anwar spoke, it is not clear whether this will be translated into voter come March 8.

wangsa maju yew teong look taici 290208 old folks The incumbent Yew has a solid hold on the seat, especially among Chinese voters, more so after he successfully lobbied for a new Chinese primary school to be built in this area.

Political observers say that this had actually strengthen Yew’s reputation despite the high crime rate in the constituency.

Yew began this morning with a walkabout at a recreation park and the wet market in Section 2, getting a warm welcome from mostly Chinese voters.

Many of the voters told him of their concerns about the increasing cases of vandalism and snatch thefts, issues which the incumbent promised to address by setting up more police presence.

Malaysiakini asked him to comment on the accusations made by Wee last night, to which Yew calmly said: “This is untrue and this is unfair to me.

“He has no clear idea about Wangsa Maju issues,” Yew claimed.

And he added that while he might not be as fluent as Wee in the national language, he was still capable to “communicate and get things done”.