DAP's 16th Triennial National Congress in Penang this weekend will see 66 candidates vying for the 20 central executive committee (CEC) posts, with some of them family related.

NONE Among the aspiring candidates are party strongmen, national chairperson Karpal Singh ( centre, in photo ), his sons Gobind Singh Deo ( left, in photo ), who is Puchong MP, and Jagdeep Singh Deo ( third from right, in photo ), the Datuk Keramat assemblyperson.

Also vying for posts are the party's secretary-general and Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, together with his father, DAP veteran politician Lim Kit Siang, who is also the Ipoh Timur MP.

Running for the contest too are Perak's DAP strongmen, state chief Ngeh Koo Ham, who is Beruas MP, and his cousin Nga Kor Ming, who is the Perak DAP secretary. Nga is also Taiping MP and Pantai Remis assemblyperson.

Among the Malay candidates are Johor DAP vice-chairperson Ahmad Ton, senator Ariffin SM Omar, Pahang deputy chairperson Tengku Zulpuri Shah Raja Puji, Penang committee member Zulkifli Mohd Noor, Roseli Abdul Ghani who is to be fielded in Negeri Sembilan in the upcoming 13th general election, Desa Manjung branch chairperson Solaiman Op Syed Ibrahim and Harun Ahmad.

Kok: No withdrawals allowed

NONE DAP national organising secretary Teresa Kok ( right ) said no candidate was allowed to withdraw from contesting.

"Those who want to do so can inform the speaker of the congress on that day, but his number on the list stays and delegates can still vote for him on that day despite his withdrawal," she told Bernama today.

Based on the list of candidates, more than half of the contenders are either MPs or assemblypersons, or both.

"In the DAP, as long as you get nominations from two branches, you can be a candidate in the party elections,” Kok said.

Apart from Kok, who is also the Selangor DAP chairperson, other well-known names contesting the CEC seats include Bukit Mertajam MP Chong Eng, Tanjung MP Chow Kon Yeow, Petaling Jaya Utara MP Tony Pua, Cheras MP Tan Kok Wai, Kepong MP Tan Seng Giaw, Rasah MP Anthony Loke, Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran, Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy, Selangor state assembly speaker Teng Chang Khim, and DAP vice-chairperson Chong Chieng Jen, who is also Bandar Kuching MP.

NONE She said to date, DAP had about 150,000 members from 730 branches. A total of 2,576 delegates will attend the two-day congress.

Meanwhile, Lim Kit Siang ( left ), in a statement, said the DAP congress will be a historic curtain-raiser to the 'Hundred Days to Putrajaya' campaign.

The opposition pact is eyeing to topple the BN government in the coming general election.

- Bernama