Muda president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman should stand in the Johor polls and lead his party “from the front”, said Lim Guan Eng.
The DAP secretary-general said DAP is disappointed that the Muar MP will not be contesting.
DAP gave the youth-based party two seats in which to contest in the state elections.
Muda announced its candidates for seven seats, but Syed Saddiq is not one of them.
“DAP really hopes Syed Saddiq will contest in the state elections and set an example for youth,” Lim told reporters, after announcing DAP’s candidates for the Perling and Skudai seats today.
“I see that he is not contesting, but I hope he will. It is up to the Muda leadership.
“A leader should lead the charge in the state elections. We must lead from the front, not from behind.
“This was why although (Johor DAP chairman) Liew Chin Tong didn’t want to contest in the beginning, he eventually followed the wish of the party after we told him that a leader must be at the frontlines to lead,” he said.
Syed Saddiq announced three more Muda candidates for the Johor polls today, bringing the total to seven.
Muda is set to clash with PKR in Larkin, after seat negotiations between both parties failed.
Muda’s Rasid Abu Bakar will be facing PKR’s Zamil Najwah Arbain.
Muda agreed to a “no-contest” pact with Amanah and DAP, after the Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties handed over six seats to the youth-based party. The seats are Bukit Kepong, Bukit Permai, Machap, Parit Raja, Puteri Wangsa and Tenang.
Last week, PKR president Anwar Ibrahim said PKR will back Muda candidates only if the party respects the “no-contest” condition among PH-friendly parties.
Asked on the Larkin seat controversy, Lim expressed hope that the two parties would be able to discuss further and find common ground.
“I am still optimistic. Let’s try to reach a consensus so that we can avoid contesting the same seats. Let’s not be like Barisan Nasional (BN) and Perikatan Nasional (PN),” Lim said.