KUALA LUMPUR: With the possibility of the Batu parliamentary seat falling vacant after its incumbent was slapped with a fine for biting a policeman's ear, the local Umno division is now sinking its fangs into Gerakan.
Batu Umno division chief Yahya Md Ghani said although they respected the fact that Batu was a traditionally Gerakan seat, Umno grassroots, however, were unhappy with the inertia of Gerakan's machinery there.
"They have done nothing. They don't go down to the ground and listen to the voters. It is Umno that has been taking care of the 38 percent Malay voters there," he told FMT.
"Gerakan and MCA have been doing nothing to win the hearts of the Chinese voters," he added.
Yahya's discontent echoed the general sentiment among hardcore Umno grassroots who view the two Chinese-based Barisan Nasional component parties as "useless".
To them, the two parties have not helped the ruling coalition's effort to regain lost support after its worst ever electoral performance in the 2008 general election.
Is Umno vying for the seat?
Yahya, however, was non-committal when asked if his division was vying for the seat, saying that the top leadership had the final say on this matter.
"We do not have a problem if Gerakan contests there. It is up to the party leadership,” he added.
The High Court yesterday ordered Batu's PKR incumbent Tian Chua to pay RM2,000 in fine for his offence.
Although the court had reduced the original RM3,000 fine imposed by the Magistrate's Court in a bid to avoid a by-election, the judgment, however, had inadvertently made a contest possible.
Article 48(1)(e) of the Federal Constitution states that a person would be disqualified from the MP post if convicted in a court of law and sentenced “to a fine of not less than 2,000 ringgit”.
Meanwhile, Yahya said the Batu Umno division was prepared for the by-election, and his team had been sent on a retreat to Janda Baik recently for election training.
"Yes we are ready. Our team had recently gone for training. The election training was to help us prepare for possible by-elections and the general election," he added.
FMT learnt that BN had been working hard on the ground to reclaim the seats lost in the nation's capital.
Pakatan sources also confirmed this, claiming that Federal Territories Minister Raja Nong Chik was “splashing money” to woo voters.
Tian Chua defeated Gerakan's Lim Si Pin with a thumping majority of 9,455 votes in the last general election.
In a related development, former Gerakan Wilayah chief Dr Tan Kee Kwong told FMT that BN and Umno cannot win the seat.
According to the ex-Segambut MP, who is now with PKR, there were more than 4,000 hardcore PAS supporters whereas PKR enjoyed at least 72% of popular support in the mixed constituency.
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