By EDWARD R. HENRY
edward@thestar.com
Three new faces: Gerakan’s Juan (left) is tipped to take on DAP’s Kasturi (centre) and independent candidate Simon Lee.
BUKIT Gasing constituents may see three new faces in the contest for the state seat as Gerakan Bukit Gasing coordinator Juan Sei Chang, 42, is tipped to take on Kasturi Rani Patto, 34, and independent candidate Simon Lee Chung Hsin, 34.
Kasturi is the daughter of the late DAP strongman P. Patto. Simon is the son of former DAP state assemblyman, the late Edward Lee Poh Lin, whose death in 2011 left the seat vacant. Lee won the seat in 2008 when he defeated Barisan Nasional’s Datuk Lim Thuang Seng with a majority of 8,812.
The three potential candidates are all constantly connected to Twitter and Facebook and keep followers updated, said All-Petaling Jaya Residents Association Coali-tion (Apac) adviser Mohd Umar Peer Mohd.
“For the 13th general election (GE13), Twitter will help disseminate information that is easy to digest and help people make decisions,” he added.
Simon plans to announce his candidacy on Thursday and for Juan, this means the former will split votes meant for Kasturi.
Bukit Gasing residents feel Simon could garner some votes based on local sentiments for his late father.
On the other hand, Juan, a former councillor with Petaling Jaya City Council (MBPJ), has been serving the people and resolved issues in various neighbourhoods, like poor garbage collection services and the deforestation of Bukit Gasing.
For the Gen X and Y voters, Juan could be their choice as he grew up in the neighbourhood.
With the GE13 so close, these two generations are bound to make a major impact on politics.
Bukit Gasing, a state seat in Petaling Jaya Selatan (PJS), Selangor has 34,645 voters now, an increase of 1,479 voters from the general election in 2008.
Gen X and Y will have an impact on the voting trends in Bukit Gasing, where there are about 8,000 voters aged 21 to 45.
It will be an interesting battle for Bukit Gasing as in this age group, the Chinese make up the majority with 23,750 voters, with Malays at 4,642, Indians at 4,780 and others at about 900.
Kasturi, a microbiologist, is new to Bukit Gasing, having been on the scene for about nine months now. She has made her presence felt by attending MBPJ’s full-board meetings as an observer and focusing on the Section 5 neighbourhood.
In Simon’s case, he is positioning himself as a “community candidate” to be the catalyst for change.
“I am here to work with the people. Collectively, we will champion our rights,” he said.
Simon was the special assistant and constituency officer for Bukit Gasing till June 2012.
Umar Peer said Gen X and Y voters were not going to vote based on logos or slogans.
“Their choice will be the candidate who can work and serve the people best,” he said.
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