Saturday April 13, 2013

GE13: Ngeh denies rift with Fong led to her pulling out

IPOH: Perak DAP chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham has denied any rift between him and Batu Gajah MP Fong Po Kuan, causing her to opt out from contesting in the general election.

”I had a good working relationship with Fong, who contributed a lot to the party. In fact, Fong mentioned some time ago her desire not to contest,” he said.

Ngeh said this in response to talk that he had a rift with Fong, resulting in the three-term MP not defending her Batu Gajah seat.

He also reiterated that her decision was due to personal reasons, as announced by Fong in a press statement on Wednesday.

Ngeh made the comment after launching Perak Pakatan Rakyat's slogan for GE13 at the DAP headquarters here yesterday.

Perak PKR chief Dr Mohd Nur Manuty, who was also present, said he hoped the party would still contest 20 state seats as it did in the previous general election.

He was referring to the announcement last month that Perak PAS deputy commissioner Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin would stand in the Changkat Jering state seat.

The seat was contested by PKR in the 2008 general election.

“I think it will be better to maintain the status quo,” said Dr Mohd Nur, adding that the top leadership in Pakatan was sorting the matter out.

For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site

More News