SEREMBAN: DAP will field lawyer Lee Kai Yet to defend Mambau in the Aug 1 Negri Sembilan state polls, says party secretary-general Anthony Loke.
He said the 42-year-old state assistant secretary would replace incumbent Yap Yew Weng, who had opted to stay out after serving the constituency for the past three consecutive terms.
"Lee is one of the new faces the DAP will be fielding under the Pakatan Harapan ticket this time around.
"We have decided to publicly announce DAP candidates who would be contesting for the first time earlier so that they will have sufficient time to do some groundwork since not many voters may know them," he said when launching Lee's operations centre.
Loke said although Lee was being fielded for the first time, he was not a newcomer in politics as he had been with the party for the past 18 years.
He added that Lee had been in their legal bureau for many years and had lots of experience dealing with the public.
"With his vast experience and service in the party and being a lawyer by profession, he has an advantage of bringing his perspective and strengthening our team in the state legislative assembly," Loke said.
Loke, who will also be defending his Chennah seat in the polls, said the remaining nine DAP candidates would be named in phases.
He said the major announcement would be made together with the other Pakatan candidates, most likely after the Johor state polls.
He added that there were other incumbents who had served for a long time and decided not to seek re-election.
In his speech earlier, Loke thanked Yap for serving his constituents well.
He noted that Yap had prior to that served as Nilai assemblyman for one term.
Loke said he had also never changed his address and was a registered voter in Mambau.
"There are five of us in my family who would be voting for Pakatan in Mambau.
"I have never used a fake address and if you go to my house, you will always find it occupied," he said.
Lee, who is also from Mambau, thanked the party leadership for nominating him.
"I was first asked if I was keen to stand as a candidate in the 2018 state polls but I told the party I wasn't ready.
"Now, I am all ready to contest and retain the seat for Pakatan," he added.
