KUALA LUMPUR: Battle lines have been drawn in the duel for the Bentong parliamentary seat with DAP dropping its incumbent Wong Tack for Young Syefura Othman who will be up against MCA stalwart Tan Sri Liow Tiong Lai in the 15th General Election (GE15).
Wong has vowed to defend the seat as an Independent. The one-term Bentong MP first contested the seat in 2013.
DAP secretary-general Anthony Loke said the party had offered Wong to contest in Cameron Highlands but he refused to accept.
He said they had a three-hour discussion with Wong on Sunday with the latter making known his refusal the next day.
“It is his personal choice and we can’t force him.
“We have to move on as there are other matters which I have to address in a limited time,” Loke said at a press conference yesterday.
Wong was absent at the event.
Loke said Young Syefura, also known as Rara, would defend the Bentong seat for Pakatan Harapan in the coming polls.
“She served as the assemblywoman for the Ketari state seat, which is within the Bentong parliamentary constituency, and has built a presence there,” he said.
Wong is noted for his opposition to Australian mining firm Lynas Corp’s rare earths-processing plant in Pahang, which was used as a campaign platform during the 2018 general election.
MCA recently announced that former party president Liow, also an ex-cabinet minister, would contest in Bentong, a seat he held for four terms since 1999 before his defeat in 2018.
When contacted, Wong said: “Yes, I am standing as a candidate in Bentong”, before asking to refer to the statement he issued yesterday.
In the statement, Wong said DAP had reneged on the understanding that he would be allowed to continue championing green issues after spearheading the green movement Himpunan Hijau in GE13 in 2013.
“Today, the DAP has decided to end this ‘understanding’.
“I wish to make clear that the people decide their own path and destiny. The choice is ours,” he said.
Wong also took a swipe at what he called internal politicking in DAP.
“We also have no interest in playing political games. The people are not pawns in a game of chess,” he said.
He added that he had served his constituency well over the past four years and would continue to do so as a Bentong native.
Meanwhile, Loke announced that Raub incumbent Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji would be standing for the Lipis parliamentary seat.
He acknowledged that Tengku Zulpuri would face a daunting task in his fight for the seat that was seen as an Umno stronghold.