By FMT Staff
KUALA KUBU BARU: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin today announced that Barisan Nasional will field MIC information chief P Kamalanathan for the Hulu Selangor by-election.
Speaking to a crowd of about 1,000 BN supporters, he said Kamalanathan is the best man to wrest the parliamentary seat from PKR.
"We have checked Kamalanathan's background -- back and front -- and he is very clean,” he added.
As for Hulu Selangor MIC Youth chief V Mugilan, who was speculated as the possible candidate, Muhyiddin said luck was not on his side.
“I called Mugilan and told him that luck was not on his side this time. God has decided. But I asked him to help Kamalanathan serve the people,” he said.
Flanked by MIC president S Samy Vellu, whom Muhyiddin described as his "big brother", the deputy prime minister said the people of Hulu Selangor want a new candidate.
“They want a new breeze (to blow through the constituency) and we have to listen to them because it is people first” he said, while thanking MIC deputy president G Palanivel for his contribution.
Who is Zaid?
Muhyiddin also took a swipe at PKR's candidate Zaid Ibrahim. “I hear that even PKR and PAS members are not happy with Zaid. Who is Zaid?” he asked.
“Who said Zaid is heavyweight? If you are talking about his size perhaps, but if you look at his record, it isnt all that impressive,” said Muhyiddin.
“The people want want someone local. I see Zaid as a featherweight,” he added.
Samy Vellu meanwhile told the crowd that while the media has described Zaid as a "heavyweight", BN supporters must prove that a "lighweight" can knock him out.
Kamalanathan, on the other hand, took a dig at Zaid, the former Kota Baru MP, saying: “I will swim with you and I will sink with you, I am right here. I am not in Kota Baru.”
All MIC top leaders, except for Palanivel, were present at the function which was also attended by MCA and Umno leaders.
Both Muhyiddin and Samy Vellu agreed on Kamalanathan, after the deputy premier remained adamant about not naming Palanivel.
It was reported that Samy Vellu held a meeting with Muhyiddin, the BN elections director, this afternoon, in a last-minute attempt to convince him about Palanivel.
DPM: Not a last minute decision
Later during a press conference, when asked as to why the decision was made at the last minute, Muhyiddin said that there were many qualified leaders and they needed time to decide. He however denied that it was a last-minute decision.
"It took us two weeks to ask the people on the ground and most of the feedback we received was that they want a fresh face to be fielded," he said.
"He has been on the list but his name was not as notable as others. But after all the feedback we got, he is the best,” he said.
On Palanivel's absence, Muhyiddin said the MIC leader might be "a bit disappointed".
"Maybe he has some other stuff to do and maybe he is a bit disappointed (because he was not chosen).
“But I believe he will be fine soon because he is the deputy-president and I am confident that he would lend a hand in this by-election and ensure our victory here,” he added.
Kamalanathan: I'm a 1Malaysia candidate
Speaking to reporters at the MIC headquarters earlier, a visibly elated Kamalanathan described himself as a "1Malaysia" candidate.
“I am not an MIC or BN candidate but rather a 1Malaysia candidate. We will strengthen the 1Malaysia concept in Hulu Selangor,” he said.
Kamalanathan, 44, also thanked Samy Vellu and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak for giving him the opportunity to contest in the April 25 by-election.
Beaming with confidence, he stressed that Hulu Selangor will be the first battle in the war to re-capture Selangor, which fell into the hands of Pakatan Rakyat during the 2008 general election.
“When we want to clean the river, we have to start with the 'hulu' (upstream), so in order to clean Selangor, we shall start with Hulu Selangor,” he said.
“We will bring back Selangor to BN,” he said, adding that he wants to gift the Hulu Selangor seat to Najib.
Kamalanathan, who hails from Rawang, holds a degree in Mass Communications from the Edith Cowan University in Australia. He also holds diplomas in public relations and language translation.
The BN candidate, who speaks fluent Malay, is currently the public relations manager with Serba Wangi Sdn Bhd, a subsidiary of Bernas.
He is also a part-time lecturer with the IACT college, where he teaches public relations, crisis management, publicity and media relations as well as ethics.
Samy Vellu: He is not a 'compromise' candidate
Meanwhile, Samy Vellu earlier denied that Kamalanathan is a "compromise" candidate.
“No, no compromise. The candidate was approved by the PM and MIC has agreed to it,” he said.
The MIC president also claimed that the party's branches in Hulu Selangor have no qualms with Kamalanathan being named as the candidate.
He stressed that as long as the candidate came from MIC and not from any other party, the branches will not have problems.
Responding to a question, Samy Vellu said there would be no elements of sabotage either.
“No, normally we don't sabotage. We have not learnt that art yet,” he said.
No comments:
Post a Comment