There is a 'wind of change' in the Seputeh parliamentary constituency in Kuala Lumpur, which could sway the DAP bastion towards Barisan Nasional (BN), said MCA deputy president Chan Kong Choy today.

He added that the Umno-MCA pact, which was the driving force behind the BN election machinery - will help the ruling front wrest away the seat.

"This (the Umno-MCA cooperation) will give us an added advantage and added strength to win in this constituency," he was quoted as saying in a Bernama report.

The MCA leader was speaking to reporters after visiting the Seputeh BN election operations centre.

He said there was a wind of change there now that the voters had given DAP enough time to dominate the area.

The constituency with some 75,000 voters, predominantly Chinese middle and lower-middle class, most of whom are businessmen and hawkers, has been controlled by DAP for the past two decades.

"I am confident (of the BN winning the seat) because the opposition has been given too many opportunities and too long a period to prove their worthiness.

People will decide

In the last general election, DAP's Teresa Kok bagged 28,657 votes in a four-cornered fight to defeat Liew Ah Kim, of the Malaysian Democratic Party (457 votes), M. Thurai, an Independent (134), and BN's Dr Sua Chong Keh (23,457).

This time around, Kok will face BN's Chin Yen Foo, 42, a businessman.

Contacted by malaysiakini later, the DAP incumbent remained modest about her chances, saying that the people will decide come March 21.

She said the MCA deputy president was entitled to his view on the matter.

"I have tried my best in the Parliament and serving the constituency," she stressed, adding that in her campaign leaflets distributed to the residents there, she has included a 'report card' on herself.

Kok said the leaflets detail the things that she has done over the past years.