A PRO-Pakatan Harapan (PH) association has expressed hope that an Indian representative from PKR can be made a Selangor executive council (exco) member to represent the community’s interests.
The demand comes following two consecutive terms held by representatives from DAP, as highlighted by Selangor Indian Executives Association (PEIS) chairperson Dr Sathia Prakash Nadarajan in an exclusive interview with Malaysiakini.
“We hope this time, PKR will be given an executive council position to represent the Indian community in Selangor. However, the decision ultimately lies in the hands of the PH leadership.”
PEIS, an organisation comprising Indian-descent division chiefs of Selangor PKR, boasts the Selangor incumbent menteri besar Datuk Seri Amirudin Shari as its patron. Significantly, among the 22 PKR divisions in Selangor, eight are helmed by Indian leaders.
In a historical context, after the 12th general election in 2008, former PKR leader Dr Xavier Jayakumar assumed the role of an exco member when Pakatan Rakyat formed the state government for the first time in Selangor.
The subsequent general election in 2013 witnessed the appointment of DAP’s V Ganabatirau as Jayakumar’s replacement, a position he held throughout the last term.
In the recently concluded state elections, Ganabatirau made the decision to forgo defending his Kota Kemuning state seat, focusing instead on his duties as the Klang MP.
PKR’s deputy secretary-general Sathya Prakash advocating for fairness in representation expressed his hope that the PH leadership would uphold equitable treatment towards PKR’s Indian leaders.
“There are Indian representatives from DAP in Penang. Before this, the Negri Sembilan administration also had two Indian representatives from the party. Therefore, it is only fair for Selangor to get an Indian executive council representative from PKR this time,” asserted Sathya.
Just yesterday (Aug 17), Amirudin confirmed that the Selangor palace would imminently announce the appointment of the next Selangor menteri besar.
He added that his audience with the Selangor ruler Sultan Sharafuddin Idris Shah yesterday afternoon was to brief the ruler on current developments in the state.
In the recently concluded state elections, the PH-BN coalition triumphed with 34 seats out of 56 in the Selangor state assembly.
Notably, four Indian representatives emerged victorious or retained their positions in the state polls: Rajiv Rishyakaran (DAP-Bukit Gasing), Preakas Sampunathan (DAP-Kota Kemuning), Papparaidu Veraman (DAP-Banting) and Gunaraj George (PKR-Sentosa). – Aug 18, 2023
Main photo credit: The Vibes
