WILL MIC wrest back Sungai Siput this time around? The Barisan Nasional (BN) Indian component party will be fielding its president Tan Sri S.A Vigneswaran in Sungai Siput, a move by BN in hopes that the seat which was a stronghold of its party supremo the late Tun S. Samy Vellu will be won back by BN.
Can MIC continue the legacy of Samy Vellu who had developed the little town of Sungai Siput during his tenure as MP for eight terms (1974-2008), and is considered as one of the longest serving MPs in Malaysian politics?
That was long enough for any MP and he was responsible for the many developments in the simple town of Sungai Siput located in between Kuala Kangsar and Perak’s capital Ipoh. Samy Vellu exited from Sungai Siput after being defeated during the 2008 General Elections by then PKR candidate Dr Michael Jeyakumar.
Some of the major developments initiated by the late veteran statesman was a district hospital, a community college, he also developed modern facilities for the police, firemen, volunteer corps and the district office, as well as the local district council including building a mosque for the Indian Muslim community.
These are just some of the major developments that the late politician worked on, not forgetting the many other community work to uplift the lives of his constituents.
The MIC then fielded Datuk Seri S.K Devamany during GE13 where he lost to Dr Jeyakumar who was contesting under the Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM)’s ticket. During GE14, the seat was won back by PKR’s S. Kesavan. However, Devamany who carried on Samy Vellu’s legacy by engaging and working with the Sungai Siput people managed to get 15,210 second to Kesavan who received 20,817 votes.
For the upcoming polls, PKR and PSM are in a squabble about the Sungai Siput seat with the latter asking Pakatan Harapan to allocate the hot seat back to them, while Pakatan wants PKR incumbent Kesavan to defend his seat.
PKR deputy president Rafizi Ramli is more concerned in fielding a winnable candidate for the betterment of the coalition in forming the federal government.
Who has a better chance in Sungai Siput in the forthcoming polls, MIC or PKR? – Nov 2, 2022
Main photo credit: Samy Vellu’s Facebook Page
