Speaking to FMT, Ilham Centre director Mohamad Hisomuddin Bakar said Boo seemed to have wrongly deduced that DAP was making a strategic mistake in its decision to shuffle election candidates in Johor.
He said he believed the decision was part of DAP’s plan to win every one of its contests in the state.
“DAP supporters no longer mind whom the party fields,” he said. “So a reshuffling of candidates will not affect DAP’s support in Johor. Maybe a little, but not sufficient to dent the party.”
Boo has rejected the offer to run in Labis, thereby losing his chance to contest for any seat under the Pakatan Harapan (PH) banner. DAP gave him an ultimatum last week.
Labis has been an MCA stronghold since 1986, when Ling Liong Sik, who would later become the party’s president, won the seat and held it for four terms. Chua Soi Lek won it in 2004 and also went on to become MCA president. Chua Tee Yong, who has held the seat since 2008, is Soi Lek’s son.
Boo first won the Skudai seat in 2008 with a 12,854-vote majority. In the 2013 polls, his majority increased to 18,050.
DAP recently announced that Mengkibol incumbent Tan Hong Pin would be its candidate for Skudai in the coming polls.
Hisomuddin cited the case of the Kluang parliamentary constituency to show that DAP was expanding its reach. In 2013, the party decided to field Penang’s Liew Chin Tong for Kluang, which is in Johor, and succeeded in wresting it from Barisan Nasional (BN).
“Similarly, DAP needs a strong candidate for Labis to wrest it from BN,” he said, adding that Boo fitted the bill.
He said the decision to move Liew to the Ayer Hitam parliamentary seat, held by MCA deputy president Wee Ka Siong over the last three terms, was also consistent with the strategy.
“Ayer Hitam has been a BN stronghold and there are risks in going against the ruling coalition,” he said. “Therefore the move needs a strong candidate like Liew, who already has followers.”
Wee’s majority in Ayer Hitam declined from 15,763 votes in the 2004 election to 13,909 in 2008 and 7,310 in 2013.
Malay voters make up 57.57% of Ayer Hitam’s electorate, while Chinese account for 38.43% and Indians 4%.
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