KUALA LUMPUR: Dr S. Steram is allowed to contest under Pakatan Harapan’s banner in the Rantau by-election, despite allegations that the Rembau PKR deputy chief had failed to repay a RM62,000 debt.
According to Pakatan Harapan chairman Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad, this was because Dr Steram isn’t a bankrupt.
“As far as we know, although he has debts, he still can become a candidate.
“If he is a bankrupt who failed to repay his debts, then he can’t be (a candidate),” Dr Mahathir told reporters during a press conference at Parliament lobby on Tuesday (March 12).
On March 9, PKR deputy secretary-general Datuk Seri Dr Edmund R. Santhara Kumar lodged a police report against Dr Steram for allegedly cheating him of RM62,000.
In the report, Santhara alleged that the sum was lent to Dr Steram, who had asked for a loan because he needed to pay his daughter’s school fees at the University of Newcastle in Australia.
In response, Dr Steram said he had repaid the debt in full to Dr Santhara and all relevant documents and proof of payment had been submitted to PKR’s leadership, after the matter was raised at an internal meeting.
He claimed that this issue was raised due to the upcoming Rantau by-election and it was done with an aim to tarnish his reputation.
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