YONG PENG: With less than 24 hours to go before polling, Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Harapan have ramped up their campaigns by holding ceramah in Yong Peng featuring top guns, in a last-ditch effort to sway fence sitters.

       Barisan is set to hold a mega ceramah featuring party bigwigs at the Yong Peng MCA operations centre beginning at 8pm on Friday (March 11).

       The ceramah will feature party president Datuk Seri Dr Wee Ka Siong, deputy president Datuk Dr Mah Hang Soon, secretary-general Datuk Chong Sin Woon, vice-president Datuk Lim Bang Hong, vice-president Datuk Seri Ti Lian Ker, youth chief Datuk Nicole Wong and among others.

       Pakatan will also field top leaders to deliver ceramah in Yong Peng, among them DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng, Perak DAP chairman Nga Kor Ming, DAP national organising secretary Anthony Loke and DAP veteran Lim Kit Siang, among others.

       Both ceramah by MCA and DAP will be live-streamed on Facebook on Friday (March 11) from 8pm.

       Yong Peng is closely watched by observers, as MCA’s candidate Ling Tian Soon is making his second attempt to wrest the seat from DAP.

       In the 14th General Election in 2018, the seat was won by DAP’s Chew Peck Choo after she garnered 12,307 votes against Ling’s 7,218 votes, and PAS’ 1,243 votes.

       Chew recently announced her retirement from politics to focus on her family and DAP fielded former Senai assemblyman Alan Tee Boon Tsong in Yong Peng.

       Ling, a political secretary to Dr Wee, will be in a three-cornered fight among DAP’s Tee and Perikatan Nasional’s Susan Yong.

       DAP won by a 5,039-seat majority in 2018, but observers have said it will not be an impossible feat for Ling given his track record of servicing Yong Peng locals and shifting political trends.

       In Yong Peng, Chinese voters make up the majority with 59.58% of voters, followed by Malays (33.32%) and Indians (6.75%).