GE13: DAP slams PKR for being ‘insensible’

(The Star) – JOHOR BARU: The DAP-PKR spat in Johor continues with state DAP chief Dr Boo Cheng Hau accusing its ally in the Opposition front of being “unreasonable, insensible and lacking the spirit of fraternity” in demanding to take the Segamat and Bakri parliamentary seats.

He said PKR had been allotted 11 parliamentary seats in Johor, compared with nine for PAS and six for DAP.

“I deeply regret Johor PKR has been insensibly targeting DAP seats. I urge them to look at the bigger picture,” he said.

Dr Boo said that instead of eyeing additional parliamentary seats, PKR should swap state seats with PAS, which has been allotted 28 of the 56 state seats at stake.

This comes came a day after Johor PKR deputy chief Dr Ahmad Faidhi said he had taken over the duties of state party chairman Datuk Chua Jui Meng, who had gone “missing in action” for more than 10 days.

Chua is allegedly sore that his party adviser Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim endorsed the candidacy of DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang in Gelang Patah, the parliamentary seat that both Dr Boo and Chua were eyeing.

Chua had earlier stated that he was also keen to contest in Bakri, where he was MP before being dropped by Barisan Nasional in 2008.

Dr Ahmad also insisted that the Segamat parliamentary seat, along with the Johor Jaya and Tangkak state seats, were PKR’s.

At the last polls, Bakri was won by DAP and Segamat by Barisan’s Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam who beat DAP.

Meanwhile, two former DAP branch officials and their supporters held a protest against Dr Boo for allegedly ignoring the needs of the Indian community.

V. Thulasi Das, former chairman of the Taman Saga DAP branch in Kulai, and K. Murugan, former publicity secretary of the Taman Nesa DAP branch in Skudai, claimed Dr Boo had ignored the community’s grouses.