If DAP allows them to do so, they will be following the footsteps of Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong, who will be Pakatan Harapan’s candidate for Ayer Hitam, currently held by MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong, a minister in the prime minister’s department.

The three are party strongman Lim Kit Siang, who is now the MP for Gelang Patah, Gobind Singh Deo (Puchong) and Nga Kor Ming (Taiping).

According to the source, Lim may be gunning for Johor Bahru, an Umno bastion held by Felda chairman Shahrir Abdul Samad, or Bentong, whose MP is MCA president and transport minister Liow Tiong Lai.

Gobind, who is the party’s deputy chairman, may take on MCA in Labis, whose MP is deputy international trade and industry minister Chua Tee Yong.

Nga, one of DAP’s three deputy secretaries-general, may slug it out in Teluk Intan with Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong, the incumbent.

The source said DAP was likely to allow the three to make the move, like it has allowed Liew to take the risk in Ayer Hitam, which has been Wee’s constituency for three terms.

Hopes are high that Gobind can win in Labis. In the last election, Chua won the seat by a margin of only 353 votes against DAP’s Ramakrishnan Suppiah. A total of 37,714 votes were cast.

“It is still not known who will stand in Puchong,” the source said. “Negotiations are ongoing.”

DAP also sees Nga having a good chance of winning in Teluk Intan. When Mah won it in a by-election in 2014, he scraped through with 20,157 votes against DAP’s 19,919. The DAP candidate was newcomer Dyana Sofia Mohd Daud.

The source told FMT that Lim, Gobind and Nga were risking their political careers in order to give other opposition politicians the opportunity to get elected to seats considered safe for DAP.

They were also hoping to generate excitement over GE14, he added.

On Thursday, Bakri MP Er Teck Hwa, also of DAP, announced that he would not defend the seat in GE14 despite having held it since 2008.

He said he had decided to give way to a “better candidate”.