JOHOR BARU: Rumblings have started in the state when MIC vice-president Datuk M. Asojan was dropped as the possible Barisan Nasional candidate for the Segamat parliamentary seat.
It is learnt that Asojan has been replaced with a parachute candidate from Perak, Tan Sri M. Ramasamy, who is a relative of MIC president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran.
Talk is rife that some of the local leaders in Johor are against this.
“This news about the swap only happened in the last few days and caught everyone by surprise,” a party source said.
“Johor MIC has always been strong even during the Barisan crisis in GE14. For more than 20 years, this seat has been contested by outsiders. It is time that a Johorean be given an opportunity,” the source added.
Asojan, a former Johor MIC chairman and former executive councillor, had been appointed as a Barisan coordinator for the Segamat seat after the it was won by PKR’s Datuk Seri Dr Edmund Santhara Kumar in 2018. Dr Edmund has since joined Parti Bangsa Malaysia.
Asked about who could be a replacement, the source said: “I am sure Johor has many potential candidates.”
It is learnt that Ramasamy, who is a businessman and former Perak MIC chairman, has already started meeting local leaders in Segamat over the past few days.
Asojan, when contacted, said he too was surprised. However, he urged his supporters to stay calm.
Johor MIC chairman R. Vidyananthan downplayed the rumblings urging state MIC members to toe the party line.
He added that it was time to focus on the election.
“I am sure our party president and leadership knows the best candidate to be put for each seat in this election. It is time that we show solidarity with the party’s decision and move on,” he said.
