Karpal renews pressure on one man-one seat policy
The DAP chairman wants the party’s double-seat holders to publicly announce that they would contest to retain only one seat in the next general election.
Athi Shankar, FMT
The DAP’s double-seat holders should publicly declare that they would contest only one seat in the next general election instead of waiting for the party leadership to decide for them.
National chairman Karpal Singh said this would spare the party supreme decision-making body, central executive committee (CEC), the trouble of dumping them eventually from either the parliamentary or state seat.
He insisted said that in their declaration, the current double-seat holders should only declare that they would opt for one seat the next time.
He said they however, shall not declare which seat, federal or state, they would decline, as it would be the CEC prerogative to decide on that.
He insisted that it was not in the public interest for DAP candidates to continue to be silent on their stance or insist to contest both federal and state seats in the next polls.
He said they got to declare their one-seat stance in the larger interest of the party and Pakatan Rakyat.
“They should make way for new candidates and young leaders,” Karpal, the Bukit Gelugor MP, told a press conference in Bandar Baru Air Itam here today.
He said the party had grown leaps and bounds over the last four years, thus not facing shortage of enthusiastic and energetic candidates.
Nine double-hatters
DAP has nine elected representatives holding both parliamentary and state seats.
The most prominent double-seat holder is DAP secretary general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng. He is Bagan MP and Air Putih assemblyman.
Lim however, may be excused from making such public declaration.
When the CEC reached a consensus and endorsed the one person – one seat formula some time back, Karpal said it was decided that there would be some exemptions to the general rule.
But he insisted that the exceptional rule shall be used in its “fullest import.”
One exemption proposed by Karpal is to allow the chief minister candidate to contest both federal and state seats.
“We need the chief minister to be an MP to air the state issues at federal level,” said Karpal, recalling that former state chief minister Lim Chong Eu was once both MP and a state assemblyman (1969 – 1974)
However, Karpal admitted that from 1974 general electon until 1990, Chong Eu opted only for the state seat to focus on his chief minister job.
But he still insisted on DAP’s chief minister candidate to be given double seats to enable a chief minister to handle directly state-federal issues.
Another exemption would be to allow double-seat contestants in Sabah and Sarawak due to shortage of credible candidates there.
Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow (Tanjung MP and Padang Kota assemblyman) and deputy chairman P Ramasamy (Batu Kawan MP and Prai assemblyman) are other two incumbents of both parliamentary and state seats in Penang.
Others double-hat wearers in Peninsular are Beruas MP and Sitiawan assemblyman Ngeh Koo Ham and Taiping MP and Pantai Remis assemblyman Nga Kor Ming in Perak; Seputeh MP and Kinrara assemblyperson Teresa Kok Suh Sim in Selangor; and Rasah MP and Lobak assemblyman Anthony Loke Siew Fook in Negeri Sembilan.
In Sarawak, double-hat politicians are Sibu MP and Bukit Assek assemblyman Wong Ho Leng and Bandar Kuching MP and Kota Sentosa assemblyman Chong Chieng Jen.
