Ahmad Zahid: Barisan reserves Cameron seat for MIC

KUALA LUMPUR: Barisan Nasional will continue to let MIC field a candidate for the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat should a by-election be called following the Election Court’s decision to nullify the victory of MIC Youth Chief Datuk C. Sivarraajh there. 

Barisan chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi (pic) said the seat has traditionally been an MIC seat and this has been agreed to by members of the coalition. 

“That is an MIC seat and we respect the convention we agreed on whereby if the contested seat has been allocated to a particular component party, we will give full trust to that particular party to defend it,” he said after a meeting with Barisan Senators at the party’s headquarters at the Putra World Trade Centre on Sunday (Dec 2). 

He said even though MIC president Tan Sri S.A Vigneswaran has yet to make a decision on whom to field, Dr Ahmad Zahid said any victorious candidate deserves a second chance to defend the seat. 

The court nullified the results in Cameron Highlands on Friday (Nov 30) after it found corrupt practices were used to woo voters in the constituency. 

Sivarraajh has said that he will appeal the court’s decision and maintained his innocence while accepting the ruling. 

In the 14th General Election, Sivarraajh won by a 597-vote majority in a five-cornered battle.

Sivarraajh polled 10,307 votes, DAP's M. Manogaran 9,710 votes, Wan Mahadhir Wan Mahmud of PAS 3,587 votes, Mohd Tahir Kassim of Berjasa 81 votes and Suresh Kumar of Parti Sosialis Malaysia 680 votes.

Separately, Dr Ahmad Zahid said Sarawakians should reject Parti Pribumi Bersatu Malaysia’s (Bersatu) wish to establish a foothold in Sarawak, saying that the party does not understand the political tastes of the locals. 

“Sabah and Sarawak are unique compared to Peninsular Malaysia. When Umno decided not to spread its wings to Sarawak, it was made out of respect for the Sarawakians’ taste for politics.

“We are confident that Sarawakians, especially the natives, will reject Bersatu’s presence because they prefer parties that specifically protect Sarawak’s interests,” he said. 

On another matter, Dr Ahmad Zahid said Umno will be attending a peaceful gathering to celebrate Malaysia’s decision to not ratify the International Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Racial Discrimination (ICERD) despite concerns that it could turn violent like recent riots at the Seafield Sri Maha Mariamman temple in Subang Jaya.

“What happened in Subang Jaya is totally unrelated and ours is not a demonstration but a peaceful gathering,” he said.

Organisers of the rally on Dec 8 aim to have one million participants at Dataran Merdeka.