MELAKA: Gerakan is not looking forward to take on the Kota Melaka parliamentary seat, even if Perikatan Nasional insists on nominating a Gerakan candidate for the urban seat, say the Melaka Gerakan leadership.
Instead, the party’s Melaka chief Datuk Seri Gan Peng Lam said he will continue to lobby for the Hang Tuah Jaya seat in GE15.
“We are not keen on Kota Melaka, and Perikatan leadership should consider our candidate for a racially-mixed seat like Hang Tuah Jaya.
“Furthermore, we have a good track record of serving the constituents of Hang Tuah Jaya for the past two decades,” he said.
Gan said Gerakan is a multiracial party, and Perikatan should not field a Gerakan candidate in Kota Melaka, based on the racial composition of the constituency.
“Kota Melaka is a constituency with predominantly Chinese voters, and we prefer to contest in a mixed constituency,” he said, while suggesting that perhaps Bersatu should have a go at Kota Melaka.
“Why don’t we have a Bersatu candidate contesting against DAP’s Khoo Poay Tiong?” he asked.
Gan said Gerakan would have an advantage in Hang Tuah Jaya because it has built a rapport with the grassroots since 2000.
He said PKR has also nominated its youth chief Adam Adli as a candidate for Hang Tuah Jaya.
Gan said Adam Adli is considered a “parachute candidate”, and there are chances for votes to swing towards other political coalitions contesting in the parliamentary constituency.
Meanwhile, Adam acknowledged that it would be a daunting task for him, given that it would be his electoral debut, while conceding there was some resentment among PKR members in Hang Tuah Jaya on him being a candidate there.
