GE14: Liow in three-cornered tussle for Bentong




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BENTONG, April 28 (Bernama) -- The Bentong parliamentary constituency in Pahang which is a 'VIP' seat in the 14th general election will see a three-cornered fight for the first time between BN candidate and incumbent Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai with PAS and Pakatan Harapan candidates.

The parliamentary seat with four state seats would again witness the MCA president squaring off against GE13 opponent and environmental activist from DAP, Wong Tack, 59, this time contesting under Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) logo.

PAS re-emerged after 1986 by placing a non-Muslim candidate, N. Balasubramaniam, 60, who is PAS Supporters Club chairman.

The names of the three nominees were announced by returning officer Datuk Azhar Arshad after the parliamentary nomination at the Bentong Municipal Council Hall closed at 10 am today.

In the GE13, Liow won the seat by beating Wong with a majority of 379 votes.

Liow, who is also the Transport Minister, had held the Bentong parliamentary seat for four consecutive terms since the 1999 general election.

Earlier, Liow with three BN candidates for the Ketari state seat Datuk Lau Hoi Keong, Poo Mung Hong (Bilut) and Datuk R Goonasekaran (Sabai) headed a procession of supporters for about one kilometre to the nomination centre.

When met by the media after the announcement was made by the returning officer, Liow said he was confident of winning due to the support of party members and the strong cooperation between the component parties.

Facing a three-cornered this time in the parliamentary seats and all state seats, except Sabai (four-cornered), Liow admitted it was a new challenge and the party machinery needed to work harder.

"I've seen there's a lot of support on the ground now and I am confident the people can see what we have done over the five past years. I've actually put in a lot of efforts to transform Bentong, we put in a lot of infrastructure, the railway line, the Central Spine Road highway and turning Bentong into an eco-tourism spot," he added.

-- BERNAMA