Press Digest - Gerakan to announce GE candidates on Oct 8

Petaling Jaya: Gerakan vice–president Datuk Dominic Lau Hoe Chai said the party will announce the candidates for all seats it will be contesting in the next general election at the party general assembly on Oct 8.
"Our practice in the past general elections was to announce the candidate list at the very last minute. This time around, party president Datuk Seri Mah Siew Keong has decided to change the strategy and start to prepare for polls early," Lau was quoted as saying in a report in China Press today.
He stressed that Gerakan is already gearing up for the 14th general election (GE14) and will gain the support of the people by walking the talk.
"Everyone is working hard in their respective constituencies. We try our best to help resolve key problems facing the people, such as the citizenship issue and hudud."
Speaking in an interview with the daily, Lau stressed that Mah's recent appointment as the plantation industries and commodities minister enabled him to deal with problems facing smallholders.
"The people are the ones who will decide the fate of Gerakan (in the general election). We will work hard and be with the people to earn their support and mandate," he said in apparent reference to former information minister Tan Sri Zaiuddin Maidin's blog remark that Umno was still "blind" and in denial that MCA, MIC and Gerakan were just waiting to be buried in the next general election.
"We expect many former Umno leaders including former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and Tan Sri Zainuddin Maidin to attack Barisan Nasional (BN), and the best way (for them to attack BN) is to weaken our spirit of unity. They want to divide (the bond among) Umno, MCA, Gerakan and MIC," he said.