Tenang a crucial testing ground for Chua
By Zainal Epi, Free Malaysia Today
KUALA LUMPUR: The upcoming Tenang state seat by-election in Labis, Johor, is not just a fight between Barisan Nasional (BN) and Pakatan Rakyat. If anything, it is more a test on how much clout MCA president Dr Chua Soi Lek still wields with the Chinese community.
The battleground will also be a yardstick to gauge how much support Chua has lost over the years after his sex scandal rocked the country just before the 2008 general election.
The former MP for Labis was not picked to contest in 2008, but the party put up his son Chua Tee Yong who won with a handsome majority.
Chua’s political fortune, however, revived when he contested and won the MCA deputy president’s post in October 2008. Then in March this year, he made his biggest political comeback when he beat incumbent Ong Tee Keat for the top post.
Although Chua rode back to political power, many observers said that the perceptions of the delegates differed from that of the community. Chua may have found favour with the delegates but in the eyes of the community, the sex scandal had tarnished his reputation.
Hence, Tenang, his “playground” where he climbed up the political ladder, will be a testing ground for his popularity with the Chinese community there. Will they forget his sullied past and rally to his flag?
Sizeable force
All eyes are expected to be on his performance: can he pull in the Chinese voters to give BN a decisive victory?
