Cameron Highlands by-election: Kayveas jumps into the fray

KUALA LUMPUR: MyPPP president Tan Sri M Kayveas (pic) is planning to stand as a candidate in the upcoming Cameron Highlands by-election to "create more excitement" as he claims the party already has 3,000 votes in hand.

Kayveas said that the party has decided to field him as they are now neither supporting Pakatan Harapan or Barisan Nasional.

"We have gone through some hard times and when we wanted to leave BN, we were pressured and threatened. We have now decided to stand on our own and enjoy our freedom," said Kayveas.

He said that he does not know how many members PPP has at the moment and the party is depending on donations to run the campaign in Cameron Highlands.

" We have 3,000 votes in hand and we will have to work hard to get the rest to win," said Kayveas. 

With Kayveas' decision, the by-eleciton is expected to be a three-cornered fight, with Pakatan Harapan and Barisan Nasional and MyPPP facing off.

DAP's M. Manogaran, who contested the seat in the 14th general election, has been confirmed as the Pakatan Harapan candidate for the by-election. MIC has yet to announce its candidate for the by-election.

The Cameron Highlands's seat was won by BN in the 14th general election, with MIC's Datuk C. Sivarraajh winning 10,307 votes against Manogaran's 9,710 votes.

On Nov 30, the Election Court declared Barisan Nasional’s win null and void after finding corrupt practices were committed to induce voters to vote.

The Election Commission (EC) fixed nomination on Jan 12 and polling on Jan 26.

The EC on Dec 28 confirmed that Sivarraajh was not qualified to contest in the by-election.