Pandan: MCA's Tee Keat vs MTUC boss

Incumbent MCA candidate Ong Tee Keat is set for a straight fight with Syed Sharir Syed Mohamud (pix, below) from PKR for the Pandan parliamentary seat in Selangor.

Unlike in the 2004 general elections when Ong defeated PAS’ Iskandar Abdul Samad by a large margin of 14,112 votes, he is expected to face a much tougher fight this time as the challenger is the Malaysian Trade Unions Congress (MTUC) president.

However, Ong has been working hard in the constituency since the last general elections in 2004.

Pandan is largely a suburban constituency with two state seats under its fold - Chempaka (with 59.8% Malay voters) and Teratai (54.8% Chinese).

Chempaka will see a contest between Nosimah Hashim (Umno) and Iskandar while in Teratai, veteran politician Dr Lum Weng Keong (Gerakan) will face off with rookie Janice Lee (DAP).

Pandan is a ethnically mixed seat with 60,372 voters, comprising 50.7% Malays, 44.4% Chinese and 4.6% Indians.

Tony Tan, a resident from Pandan Indah, said the contest is likely to be of ‘national issues versus local development’.

He added that Ong has been active in resolving many community problems in the constituency including building a close rapport with the various residents’ and hawkers’ associations over the years.

"He helped get a community hall for the Indian residents, donated groceries to mosques and suraus, besides computers for schools. He promoted IT-training related courses at a secondary school in Taman Seraya and contributed much to provide vocational education for poor children."

Another resident, Peter Lim, however, believed that the constituency’s physical environment can further be improved and whoever wins this election should resolve the worsening traffic congestion around market areas, tackling the growing rat population at the various housing estates.

He said the local municipal council should also provide more incentives to promote businesses and small industries in the constituency.

Another political observer argued that although Ong (pix, right) has a good track record in serving the constituency, the PKR candidate is no pushover.

According to him, Syed Sharir represents some 750,000 workers in the country and is well-known for fighting on behalf of the low and middle-income groups.

Since a large proportion of voters in Pandan belong to this strata of the society, Syed Sharir may get sizable support.

It is understood that both candidates from the opposing sides have lined up a hectic schedule of activities over the 13-day campaign period.