Saturday February 16, 2008

Uncle may make way for nephew in Kota Damansara

Reports by LOONG MENG YEE, ELAN PERUMAL, SALINA KHALID, GEETHA KRISHNAN and TAN KARR WEI

IT LOOKS like the nephew will succeed the uncle for the Kota Damansara state seat in Selangor.

Incumbent assemblyman and state exco member Datuk Mokhtar Ahmad Dahlan is tipped to make way for nephew Datuk Zein Isma Ismail in the predominantly Malay majority area.

Waiting: Zein is keeping his options open.

Zein, who is also deputy to Mokhtar for the Subang Umno division, is a businessman.

While not denying the possibility of being offered a seat, Zein said he was not lobbying for it.

“He is my uncle. I have no problems with Mokhtar and I am not fighting for his position or trying to displace him.

“It is up to party president Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to make the decision and I will keep my options open,” the gem trader said. He is also a contractor, wholesaler and retailer.

When contacted, Mokhtar, who is a three-term assemblyman, refused to comment on his position saying he was more interested in preparing the Barisan Nasional machinery for the coming general election.

“I cannot say anything about my candidacy as it is up to the Prime Minister to decide,” he told StarMetro when contacted yesterday.

Meanwhile, former Selangor deputy mentri besar Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad is tipped to contest the Hulu Langat parliamentary seat on the Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) ticket.

The incumbent for the seat is Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Markiman Kobiran, who is also the Commercial Vehicles Licensing Board chairman.

Dr Zainal, who had previously served as Dusun Tua assemblyman, from 1990 to 2004 declined to comment, saying that he would issue a statement on nomination day on Feb 24.

Dr Zainal was one of the surprise omissions from the list of Barisan Nasional candidates contesting in Selangor for the 2004 general election.

Meanwhile, Selangor MCA chairman Datuk Ch’ng Toh Eng said the party had worked hard to get prepared for the general election and morale was at an all-time high.

The only thing that worried Ch,ng was the expected unsettling moments after the announcement of the candidates.

“There are many capable leaders in the party. Unfortunately, the seats are limited. Not getting chosen does not mean the leader is not good.

“Sometimes, supporters of those who did not get chosen are unhappy and they express their feelings the wrong way. I hope everyone puts party unity first,” Ch’ng said.

He added that among the criteria used to select a potential candidate was his or her sense of responsibility, record of public service and the willingness to put in the long hours for service.

“To me, tertiary education is not a priority, especially for those aspiring to contest state seats,” he said.

Elsewhere, Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohamd Khir Toyo said the opposition party has no issue in Selangor when it comes to the welfare of the residents.

Dr Khir said the state government under the ruling party had been taking good care of the people’s welfare and would continue to do so.

“That is why Selangor is known as Darul Ehsan, which means a blessed state which cares for the welfare of its people.

“We always think about the welfare of the residents first,” he said.

Source:

News

Saturday February 16, 2008

Uncle may make way for nephew in Kota Damansara

Reports by LOONG MENG YEE, ELAN PERUMAL, SALINA KHALID, GEETHA KRISHNAN and TAN KARR WEI

Source: