SEMENYIH: The bigger boys in Pakatan Rakyat are trying to squeeze Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) out of three of the four seats which the party intends to contest.
Apart from the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat, where there appears to be a consensus for PSM central committee member Dr Michael Jeyakumar to defend, Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) wants to field its own candidates for the Kota Damansara and Semenyih state seats in Selangor, with DAP staking its claim to the Jelapang seat in Perak.
The Kota Damansara state seat, held by PSM chairman Dr Nasir Hashim, is being eyed by a lawyer aligned to PKR deputypresident Azmin Ali, who reportedly has given the green light for the lawyer to campaign.
“We feel this is quite ridiculous because Dr Nasir held the seat,” said PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan yesterday after declaring his assets.
His assets comprise a Perodua Kelisa worth RM14,000, an RM85,000 low cost house, RM5,000 in fixed deposit and RM1,356 in a savings account as well as a monthly income of RM3,000 and RM1,000 as Kajang municipal councillor, the amount of which goes towards financing his employee.
For the people: Dr Nasir showing a copy of PSM’s manifesto.
Denying allegations that Dr Nasir was facing health problems, Arutchelvan said: “He just had knee surgery and the doctor has given him a clean bill of health.”
Arutchelvan is expected to contest in Semenyih while the party's deputy head M. Sarasvathy is slotted to stand in Jelapang.
PSM candidates had contested under the PKR banner in the March 2008 general election as their party was waiting for its registration to be approved, which came about in June 2008.
Several PKR leaders who are lobbying for the seats object to PSM using its own logo to contest in this general election and claimed that the seats were won thanks to the PKR label.
“We are determined to carry on even if we are forced to stand on our own as we are confident of winning all four seats with our credible candidates,”Arutchelvan said.
He said PSM hoped to strike a compromise with the Pakatan parties when they meet Opposition Leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahimover the weekend.
Anwar is scheduled to announce the PKR candidates for all the seats in Selangor on Sunday night in Hulu Klang.
For more election stories, please visit The Star's GE13 site
GE13: A three-cornered fight likely in Semenyih
IT COULD be a three-cornered fight in Semenyih if PKR does not consider Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) its ally.
PSM secretary-general S. Arutchelvan, who is also a councillor with the Kajang Municipal Council, is firm in his decision to contest the Semenyih seat for a second time.
He lost the state seat to Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk Johan Abdul Aziz in the 2008 general election. Johan won with a majority of 1,140 votes.
“We contested on the PKR ticket as we were not a registered party yet.
“Now that we are a registered party, we will be contesting on our own ticket in this general election,” he said.
Last month, Arutchelvan called for a press conference to announce his personal “report card” on his performance in the constituency and PSM’s manifesto for Semenyih.
He added that PSM candidates would continue to support Pakatan Rakyat. The party had submitted a formal request to join Pakatan in September last year.
When asked if PKR would be fielding a candidate in Semenyih, Ampang MP and Wanita PKR chief Zuraida Kamaruddin said the party was still deciding if PSM was an ally.
However, sources said PAS might field its candidate there.
Meanwhile, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu’s announcement that he would be contesting in Pendang, Kedah, quashed speculation that he might be running for the Hulu Langat parliamentary seat.
In Kajang, there was talk that incumbent Lee Kim Sin would not be fielded.
On the other hand, Hulu Langat MCA division chief Jeffrey Lee Ban Seng, who was born and bred in Kajang, was tipped to be Barisan’s candidate for Kajang.
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