Trouble is brewing in DAP when it became apparent that deputy president Karpal Singh was eyeing the Petaling Jaya Utara parliamentary seat, leading Selangor DAP to call for an emergency meeting last night.

It is widely known that Selangor DAP chief Ronnie Liu has been gunning for the seat, which he had contested in the 1999 election. However, he was defeated by MCA's Chew Mei Fun by 2,481 out of 48,725 votes cast.

It is learnt that a resolution was passed on the matter at the meeting and of the 13 present, eight voted for Liu while rest were in favour of Karpal.

When contacted this evening, Liu confirmed there was a meeting but denied that there was a motion raised on the issue.

"We talked about election," he said, without elaborating.

Liu said he would have to "reconsider everything" if he was not chosen to contest in the seat as he had already started preparatory work in the area.

He said he would leave it to the three-member committee - formed to decide on the party's candidates -on who should contest the seat.

The committee comprises national chairperson Lim Kit Siang, Karpal and secretary-general Kerk Kim Hock.

"If after the deliberation, the committee feels that it is more winnable for us to let Karpal contest in the seat, I will give way," said Liu.

'Perfectly alright'

Contacted later, Karpal confirmed that there was a motion raised on the issue.

"It is perfectly alright. We will listen to everybody's views including Ronnie or the DAP Selangor," he said.

Asked on the likelihood of him contesting the seat, the veteran lawyer did not rule out the possibility but added that he was still seeking feedback.

The final decision, he stressed, rested with the party.

Karpal's traditional stronghold is Jelutong in Penang but he lost the seat to Gerakan candidate Lee Ka Choon by a slim majority of 775 votes in the last elections.

However, the veteran politician reasoned that he would prefer the Petaling Jaya Utara seat as he spent more time in the Klang Valley, adding that he works here as a lawyer as well.

A party source who requested anonymity claimed that the meeting and motion were 'unnecessary' as matters pertaining to candidacy were decided by the three-member committee.