Barely a day after choosing to stand as an independent candidate for the Batu Talam state seat in Pahang, young Ng Chee Pang seems to have gone missing.

The 21-year-old, who stole the media limelight during the nomination process in Raub yesterday, has been lying low since his surprise decision to contest.

Chee Pang could not be contacted via his father Kwi Ling's mobile phone despite numerous attempts by malaysiakini today. The voice-mail box is full.

Local journalists said they have not been able to locate or contact the duo since yesterday evening.

The 'disappearance' has led to speculation that Chee Pang may be pulling out of the contest, in view of pressure being brought to bear on him to withdraw his candidacy.

The media shy political novice and trader - who turns 22 on Monday - will take on BN candidate, Abdul Aziz Kiram, 47, on polling date, fixed for Jan 28.

Abdul Aziz, who is Raub Umno division secretary, is already benefitting from the presence of party heavyweights for his campaign.

DAP Pahang chairperson Lip Tuck Chee told malaysiakini that the party's state leaders met Kwi Ling last night in an attempt to convince him to withdraw his son's candidacy.

"Should his son stay on to contest, it will have a huge impact on us. The candidate is a state leader's son, and we will face a dilemma if we do not campaign for Chee Pang," Lip said.

He said, though, that Kwi Ling was not keen on his son withdrawing. Under election laws, the withdrawal must be done within three days after nomination.

Batu Talam is one of the three state seats under the Raub parliamentary constituency. The other two are Teras and Dong.

Opposition parties PAS and Parti Keadilan Rakyat have chosen to boycott the by-election on grounds that the electoral system is flawed and must first be overhauled.

Preparing for future

The DAP top leadership declared today that it is not involved in the by-election, that it has not endorsed Chee Pang's candidacy and that he is not a party member.

Lip said DAP Pahang has to abide by the party's directive issued yesterday to disband an adhoc 'by-election consultative group' comprising state leaders. The members were to have campaigned for Chee Pang in their personal capacity.

He further revealed that Kwi Ling had previously expressed the intention of allowing his son to contest the Raub parliamentary seat in the next general election, due by April 2009.

"I see this by-election as a chance to increase his (Chee Pang's) popularity, but he is not a DAP member yet. Let's wait and see what happens later," said Lip.

Kwi Ling himself has contested four times in a Pahang state seat since 1982 and twice in the Raub parliamentary seat in 1995 and 1999. He lost in all battles.

In 1999, he lost to BN-MCA candidate Dr Ng Yen Yen by 5,601 votes. Ng is now the deputy finance minister and MCA Wanita head.

No mountain too high?

Chee Pang's nomination surprised many, especially the BN leadership, at the nomination centre. He filed his papers at 9am, followed by the BN candidate who submitted his papers 30 minutes later.

Apparently BN leaders had to scramble for information on Chee Pang, initially thinking of raising an objection based on his age as there was doubt that he was over 21 years old.

When he met the press later, the soft-spoken Chee Pang appeared nervous and could not handle questions over his political ideology and reasons why he chose to contest.

Asked for his academic background, the candidate turned to his father and asked: "Shall I tell the truth?"

With his father's encouragement, he told the media he is a SPM certificate holder.

To a question on his background, Chee Pang was speechless and had to be prompted by a friend to provide an answer - mountain climbing.

Kwi Ling claimed the decision to allow his son to contest was based on consensus reached at midnight before nomination day, after 'negotiations' with several others who were also interested in standing as independent candidates.

Kwi Ling said this was why preparations for the campaign were incomplete, including printing of posters and banners.

Chee Pang said his only hope is that he will not lose the deposit of RM5,000 that he has posted (if he receives less than one-eighth of the votes cast). There are 10,525 registered voters in Batu Talam.

When reporters asked for his contact number, he refused and instead provided his father's phone number.