Former State Exco To Stand Against Dap In Skudai

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Instead of the incumbent, former Johor DAP secretary Tan Hong Pin (left), DAP plans to nominate Marina Ibrahim as its candidate for the Skudai state seat tomorrow.JOHOR BAHRU: A former Johor state executive councillor from DAP may end up contesting against the party for the Skudai seat, after he was dropped from the list of candidates for the polls.
Tan Hong Pin, who is the incumbent in Skudai, told FMT that he would be going to the Skudai nomination centre tomorrow morning, but stopped short of confirming whether he would be there to submit his candidacy.
Yesterday, DAP announced Marina Ibrahim as its candidate for Skudai, which has been held by the party since 2008. Prior to that, it had been a stronghold of Gerakan, when the party was still in Barisan Nasional (BN).
“I’ll be going to the nomination centre. What will happen at the centre, I don’t know yet.
“No one knows what will happen tomorrow. I can only tell you my plan, which is to go to the nomination centre,” he said coyly, adding that he will be going there with his supporters.
When asked if he would be going there to show support for Marina, Tan simply said: “Maybe.”
It was previously reported by Malaysiakini that there was a feud between Tan, who won the Mengkibol seat in 2013, and Johor DAP chief Liew Chin Tong.
However, it was also reported that this had been resolved, with both factions reaching an agreement that the former Skudai assemblyman would be fielded as a candidate for the Labis parliamentary seat in GE15 in exchange for being dropped for this state election.
Nevertheless, speculation is rife that Tan, who is the former state DAP secretary, would still be contesting for the Skudai seat as an independent candidate.
If the rumours are proven true, it would not be the first time that a DAP member stood as an independent in his former seat.
At the Melaka polls last November, former Bemban assemblyman Ng Choon Koon stood as an independent candidate in a five-cornered fight for the same seat.
Following his move, DAP national organising secretary Loke Siew Fook said Ng’s membership was automatically voided. - FMT

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