Guan Eng promises Liew Chin Tong ministerial post if Opposition wins

KUALA LUMPUR: Pakatan Harapan deputy president Lim Guan Eng has promised DAP Johor chief Liew Chin Tong (pix) a ministerial position should he win in Ayer Hitam and the opposition secures a victory in the forthcoming elections.
The Penang Chief Minister said the party would propose Liew's name to the coalition's top leadership in the event the latter pulls off an unlikely victory against MCA's Datuk Seri Wee Ka Siong in the constituency that he has held for three terms.
"Liew has been talking a lot about the Malay tsunami happening, and he is prepared to prove this by contesting in a risky constituency.
"If Liew wins, surely he will be among the top leaders (in DAP), and will be one of the names that we will put forward for a minister position," he told a press conference after announcing DAP's newest member, Bersih activist Johnson Chew Chong Sin, here, today.
Liew, who is the incumbent Kluang MP, was named as DAP's candidate for the Ayer Hitam seat on Sunday, setting the stage for a showdown with MCA deputy president Wee in the coming polls.
Wee's majority in the seat – which comprises 57.57% Malay voters, 38.43% Chinese, and 4% Indians – has dwindled from 15,763 in the 2004 elections to 13,909 in 2008, and just 7,310 in 2013.
Lim said Pakatan could forget about forming the federal government if it could not secure victory in a BN stronghold seat like Ayer Hitam.
"If Liew can win the Ayer Hitam seat, then I would say Pakatan could win Putrajaya as well. We can't be the federal government without winning seats like Ayer Hitam," he said.
Lim, who has been embroiled in a war of words with Wee over the past month over the Penang undersea tunnel project, also dismissed the decision to field Liew was a personal one.
"I would like to stress that this is not a personal fight, but one for the future of the nation," he said.
Meanwhile, on Chew joining the DAP, Lim said it has not been ascertained yet if he would contest in the coming elections, and rubbished a media report that we would be contesting in Kluang.