Karpal wants CEC to discuss Kula's grouse

By S Rutra

KUALA LUMPUR: DAP national chairman Karpal Singh said he would push for a central executive committee meeting to discuss the issue raised by the party's Ipoh Barat MP M Kulasegaran.

Kulasegaran, whose team was defeated in the election held during the recent Perak DAP convention, had cast aspersions on the new branches formed prior to the convention.

Kulasegaran, who expressed shock over the election outcome, had described it as a “slaughter” of capable leaders by relatively unknown candidates.

The faction that emerged victorious was linked to state DAP chairman Ngeh Koo Ham and his cousin, Nga Kor Ming, who is also the state party secretary.

Meanwhile, Karpal said he would talk to the secretary-general Lim Guan Eng to call for a CEC meeting to settle the issue once and for all.

The veteran politician said this was a serious issue which the CEC must resolve before the next general election, which he believed would be called after Chinese New Year.

"We in DAP want all members stay united to face the general election. Internal squabbles must take a backseat,” he added.

'Learn from our defeats'

Karpal also called on Kulasegaran and the other party leaders to refrain from making any public statements on the matter in order not to worsen the situation.

He said that since the party election was held every two years, the Ipoh Barat MP could work towards a sterling performance in the next contest.

“I'm sure he can do it and he should work towards it. It's a democratic porcess, where winning and losing are part of the game," he added.

Karpal said while the defeat could be a bitter pill to swallow, Kulasegaran should emulate him (Karpal) and DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang when the pair was defeated in the 1999 general election.

"We just carried on and waited for the next election and won the seats back with better majorities. It's part of the political life," he added.