A titanic battle for ‘diamond’ of Perak

(The Star) – Shine bright like a diamond, goes the song Diamonds by Rihanna.

And Perak’s Teluk Intan, literally “Diamond Bay”, is gleaming in the spotlight now that two “generals” will be clashing head-on for the parliamentary seat.

Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming will face off against the incumbent, Gerakan president Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong, in what is seen as a battle of giants.

This will be the second big name DAP has sent after high-ranking MCA and Gerakan representatives.

Teluk Intan has about 61,000 eligible voters, and consists of the Pasir Bedamar and Changkat Jong state seats. It is a mixed-population seat with 41% Malays, 40% Chinese and 19% Indians.

Mah became the MP when he defeated DAP’s Dyana Sofia Mohd Daud in a 2014 by-election, following the death of Seah Leong Peng, also of DAP.

DAP’s V.R. Terence Naidu won in Pasir Bedamar, while Umno’s Datuk Mohd Azhar Jamaluddin took Changkat Jong.

Nga said the announcement that he will contest in Teluk Intan was one he “has been waiting for” to enable him to bring greater change to the constituency.

Calling the fight a clash of two political heavyweights, Nga also described his situation with the Chinese idiom bei shui yi zhan, which literally means to fight a battle with one’s back facing a river.

“This is going to be the toughest battle of my political career … where I will fight to win or die.

“I will do my best to win every vote,” he said.

Nga was announced as the candidate by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng during a Pakatan Harapan roadshow in Teluk Intan on Monday.

Lim also said Nga, who is Taiping MP, would be made a Cabinet minister if Pakatan takes over Putrajaya in the election.

Nga said he had known about the Teluk Intan plan for a while now and said it was part of the Opposition’s polls strategy.

“To win, this is one of the important tactical moves … at least we see a showdown between two bigwigs.

“From the people’s turnout and response last night, we see hope for us to bring change,” he said, adding that he would leave it to the party leadership to decide his profile if Pakatan wins.

When contacted, Mah, who is also Plantation Industries and Commodities Minister, said who­ever is contesting the seat must not threaten the harmony there.

“I hope their presence will not split the town.

“The election is held once every five years. The victor needs to work and take care of Teluk Intan daily for five years,” he said, adding that the town is undergoing a transformation with various development projects being carried out.

“Development, welfare and harmony must be looked after. Please do not cause people to fight with their family or neighbours to become enemies with one another,” he said.

Mah believes the people of Teluk Intan will make the right choice come polling day.

“They know well who works, provides services to them and fulfils promises to the constituency.

“I’ve served and worked hard in Teluk Intan. I trust the people will make a rational choice based on track record,” he said.

Mah said he would not look down on any DAP candidate.

In 2013, Mah lost to Seah by a 7,313-vote majority and only won by a margin of 238 in the by-election.

“This is not an easy battle but with hard work, Gerakan and other Barisan Nasional component parties promise a fierce fight,” he said.

Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak will also be len­ding his support to Mah to see that the coalition retains the seat.

Najib will be going to Teluk Intan today for the groundbreaking ceremony of a PR1MA housing project in Changkat Jong and to attend a banquet with the people.