KUANTAN: It will not be smooth sailing for environmentalist Wong Tack who is making a second attempt to wrestle the Bentong parliamentary seat from incumbent Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai.
After losing by 379 votes in the 13th General Election (GE13), Wong has been given a second shot by DAP to contest the four-term Bentong member of parliament, who is also the MCA president, in the 14th General Election.
State MCA chairman Datuk Hoh Khai Mun said Wong was going to have a tough time winning over voters as the situation was different.
“In GE13, Wong and the opposition played up the Lynas issue to secure votes. “He disappeared for four years and did not keep his promises to the people and now he returns for a rematch,” he told NST today.
“In 2013, he led a group claiming that the Lynas rare earth plant would emit radiation that would be harmful to people and even threatened to burn it down.
“But, now that Lynas has been operating for five years, no one is making an issue of it. People were worried back then but not anymore as they know the truth.”
Hoh said Bentong voters, who were fed the wrong information during GE13, should be able to judge who was the better candidate.
He said Liow had consistently brought improvements to the once quiet town which had enjoyed steady growth over the years and emerged as an eco-tourism destination.
“The town has become an ecotourism hub and busloads of tourists come here to enjoy the unpolluted air and scenery. “People are now talking about the toll-free Central Spine Road and East Coast Rail Line, which connect Bentong and Kuala Lumpur,” he said, adding that the journey would take less than 30 minutes and, as a result, Bentong would soon become a “satellite town of Greater KL”.
Kampung RTP Lebu headman Samsudin Lebar, 67, said Liow had been working tirelessly to regain the support of Bentong folk.
He described Liow as a approachable and down-to-earth person who found time to attend Hari Raya Aidilfitri open house events at Felda settlements.
On Sunday, DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng announced that Wong would contest in Bentong while Mentakab assemblyman Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji would go against MCA vice-president Datin Paduka Chew Mei Fun for the Raub parliamentary seat. He said M. Manogaran, who lost by 462 votes to MIC’s G. Palanivel in GE13, would be fielded for the second time in Cameron Highlands.
DAP has retained Leong Yu Mun as its candidate for the Triang state seat and D. Kamache for the Sabai state seat.
Ketari assemblyman Lee Chin Chen will contest Bentong MCA division Youth chief Jason Poo Mun Hoong for the Bilut seat, while Bilut assemblyman Chow Yu Hui will contest in Tras.
The other candidates are Woo Chee Wan (Mentakab), Young Syefura Othman or better known as Rara (Ketari), Chong Yoke Kong (Tanah Rata) and Abu Bakar Lebai Sudin (Pulau Manis).
DAP is contesting three parliamentary and eight state seats in Pahang.