GE15: Uphill task for MIC in Teluk Intan, say analysts
The Teluk Intan parliamentary seat has switched hands three times over the past nine years. (Bernama pic)
KUALA LUMPUR: MIC may have a chance at its first attempt to win the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat in the 15th general election (GE15), but it will certainly be an uphill task.
Political analyst G Manimaran said the country’s biggest Indian party will have to step up the campaign strategy it used in the Johor and Melaka state elections to capture the parliamentary seat, which is currently under the opposition.
“In terms of political strategy, MIC’s move to give up the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat, and contest in Teluk Intan is seen as a safe move.
“There is a chance that (MIC) will win in Teluk Intan, but it will be a tough fight,” Manimaran told Bernama.
G Manimaran.
Prior to this, Bernama had reported that MIC was expected to contest the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat as a “trade off” for the Cameron Highlands seat which was given to Umno in a by-election in 2019.
Another political analyst, B Anbumani, expressed similar views and said that the Indian party must field a candidate who is acceptable to the local community to win the seat.
“MIC should not field a parachute candidate in Teluk Intan. The decision to move to Teluk Intan carries political risks for MIC and Barisan Nasional (BN),” he said.
Meanwhile, MIC’s T Murugiah, said the party had already laid a strong groundwork in the area since 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Taiping-born MIC vice-president, who was raised in Sitiawan, not far from Teluk Intan, said he had been spending weekends in Teluk Intan since 2019 and would remain in the constituency until GE15.
“During the implementation of the movement control order (MCO), MIC provided food items to Teluk Intan residents. MIC also provides assistance for flood victims,” he added.
Murugiah, who was an army officer and also a teacher before entering politics, said Teluk Intan has 87,000 registered voters, with over 17,000 or nearly 20% of them from the Indian community, while the Malay and Chinese voters are at 40% each.
In GE13, DAP’s Seah Leong Peh beat then Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong in the contest for the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat with a majority of 7,313 votes.
However, the seat fell vacant after Seah’s death and Mah, who represented BN at the time, recaptured the seat by defeating DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud with a majority of 238 votes.
In GE14, Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming won the Teluk Intan seat, defeating Mah with a majority of 11,179 votes.
Gerakan left BN shortly after the coalition lost GE14 in May 2018, and joined Perikatan Nasional (PN) in February last year. It is expected to contest in Teluk Intan under the PN banner.
KUALA LUMPUR: MIC may have a chance at its first attempt to win the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat in the 15th general election (GE15), but it will certainly be an uphill task.
Political analyst G Manimaran said the country’s biggest Indian party will have to step up the campaign strategy it used in the Johor and Melaka state elections to capture the parliamentary seat, which is currently under the opposition.
“In terms of political strategy, MIC’s move to give up the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat, and contest in Teluk Intan is seen as a safe move.
“There is a chance that (MIC) will win in Teluk Intan, but it will be a tough fight,” Manimaran told Bernama.
G Manimaran.Prior to this, Bernama had reported that MIC was expected to contest the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat as a “trade off” for the Cameron Highlands seat which was given to Umno in a by-election in 2019.
Another political analyst, B Anbumani, expressed similar views and said that the Indian party must field a candidate who is acceptable to the local community to win the seat.
“MIC should not field a parachute candidate in Teluk Intan. The decision to move to Teluk Intan carries political risks for MIC and Barisan Nasional (BN),” he said.
Meanwhile, MIC’s T Murugiah, said the party had already laid a strong groundwork in the area since 2019, before the Covid-19 pandemic.
The Taiping-born MIC vice-president, who was raised in Sitiawan, not far from Teluk Intan, said he had been spending weekends in Teluk Intan since 2019 and would remain in the constituency until GE15.
“During the implementation of the movement control order (MCO), MIC provided food items to Teluk Intan residents. MIC also provides assistance for flood victims,” he added.
Murugiah, who was an army officer and also a teacher before entering politics, said Teluk Intan has 87,000 registered voters, with over 17,000 or nearly 20% of them from the Indian community, while the Malay and Chinese voters are at 40% each.
In GE13, DAP’s Seah Leong Peh beat then Gerakan president Mah Siew Keong in the contest for the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat with a majority of 7,313 votes.
However, the seat fell vacant after Seah’s death and Mah, who represented BN at the time, recaptured the seat by defeating DAP’s Dyana Sofya Mohd Daud with a majority of 238 votes.
In GE14, Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming won the Teluk Intan seat, defeating Mah with a majority of 11,179 votes.
Gerakan left BN shortly after the coalition lost GE14 in May 2018, and joined Perikatan Nasional (PN) in February last year. It is expected to contest in Teluk Intan under the PN banner.
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