JOHOR BARU: DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang (pic) has called for all DAP elected representatives and candidates to close ranks and support Liew Chin Tong and Teo Nie Ching in the state party polls, set to take place in less than 24 hours.

The Iskandar Puteri MP said this is because Johor is to be the front-line state for DAP and Pakatan Harapan to win the 15th General Election and fulfil the Malaysian Dream.

He said that before the 13th General Election in 2013, all the party could win was the Kluang parliamentary seat in 1978 and the Bakri seat in 2008.

“In the 13th General Election, DAP won the four parliamentary seats of Bakri, Kluang, Kulai and Gelang Patah while in the 14th General Election, we won five parliamentary seats - Bakri, Kluang, Labis, Kulai and Iskandar Puteri, ” said Lim.

He added that the “sea change” for DAP in Johor was due to the vision and courage of Liew as he worked tirelessly from 2012 to transform the state into a front-line for DAP.

“The transformation can be seen from the results of the three last general elections for the Johor state assembly where Johor DAP won 13 state assembly seats in GE13, which increased to 14 seats in GE14, ” Lim said in a blog post on Saturday (May 1).

However, Lim also said that Liew has his faults.

“He is not perfect. He has his faults - just as we must all be humble to recognise our weaknesses.

We have made our criticisms and given our views on how DAP in Johor can scale new heights, ” he said.

Lim added that he would not be able to attend the state convention as he is in Covid-19 quarantine for 10 days until May 9 after having been in contact with someone who tested positive for the virus.

The Johor DAP convention - which includes a state party leadership election - is set to take place on May 2 in Batu Pahat.

Speculation has been rife in the weeks leading up to the main event as both former state chairman and incumbent committee member Dr Boo Cheng Hau and state secretary Tan Hong Pin have been vocal and are expected to shake up the Johor DAP leadership.

There will be some 1,500 eligible voting members from 210 branches casting their votes this year.

As of April 30, there are 37 candidates vying for a spot in the 15-member state committee line-up.

https://www.thestar.com.my/news/nation/2021/05/01/kit-siang-urges-dap-to-close-ranks-support-liew-chin-tong-and-teo-nie-ching