In 32 years of active politics, Kepong DAP incumbent Dr Tan Seng Giaw has come up against many who have disagreed with him.

Last night, however, he was the target of an attack for the first time when someone threw eggs at him after a ceramah at the Metro Prima field in the constiuency.

Still visibly upset at a press conference this morning, he related what happened.

tan seng giaw pc 040308 egg pix from sinchew “I was listening to a complaint by someone who said his name is missing from the electoral roll. Suddenly a big-sized man in his thirties came up and asked if I was Dr Tan.

“He hurled abusive words, threw two eggs at me, and ran off. I then lodged a police report. This is serious. (It’s) just (the) beginning of violence. This is unacceptable.”

Tan, DAP deputy chairperson and the six-term Kepong incumbent, said his wife Dr Oon Hong Geok and two party workers had witnessed the incident (photo from Sin Chew Daily ).

He said that he suspects it was the work of a Barisan Nasional rival and that triads may also have been involved.

“It is believed that this has some connection with my opponent. If he comes out and deny it, that would be for the best. (The) police need to know whether this has any connection [...] without me saying it,” he said.

Tan said he will follow up on his complaint with the Kuala Lumpur police contingent headquarters today.

Federal supervision ‘unworkable’

The DAP veteran also expressed concern over the way solid waste will be managed in the area from April.

He revealed that Parliament had recently passed legislation to place solid waste management in federal hands, rather than under local government jurisdiction.

tan seng giaw kepong parliament interview 200208 dap road Kepong is a transfer station for 2000kg tonnes of solid waste per day from the whole of Kuala Lumpur, before this is transported to the Bukit Tagar landfill.

“(It) has been the only area dealing with rubbish from Kuala Lumpur for the past 30 years. They think we are (a) rubbish dump,” he said.

“I told (Housing and Local Government Minister) Ong Ka Ting in Parliament in June last year (that it would be) very difficult for federal authorities to take over. (The) local government has to deal with this.”

He pointed out that local councils should be “deeply involved”, or they would not bother to play their role.

Kepong has 60,775 voters comprising 91 percent Chinese, 5.2 percent Indians and 3.5 per cent Malays.

After years of hanging on to the constituency, a tough fight is expected between the still-popular Tan and newcomer Lau Hoi Keong who is Gerakan Kepong division Youth chief.