MyPPP to ‘wait and see’ over seat allocation

KUALA LUMPUR: MyPPP yesterday said it would consider whether to remain in Barisan Nasional (BN) after meeting its chairman Datuk Seri Najib Abdul Razak to discuss the allocation of its parliamentary seat.

MyPPP president Tan Sri M. Kayveas (pix) said the party wanted to see what was offered to it and how it could move forward with BN if the constituency given to it was not what it had been working on all this while.

He said the party would meet Najib before the allocation of seats to BN component parties was finalised.

“For now, the supreme council has decided to reconsider their decision (to stay with BN) after the meeting,” he told a press conference.

Kayveas said MyPPP should be given the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat as it had put in plenty of work there and had worked hard to win over the voters.

He said previously, BN won the seat with a slim majority of 462 but today, there is a strong possibility BN can win more than 50% of the votes.

The seat had been an independent seat since its incumbent, Datuk Seri G. Palanivel, was sacked from MIC.

Kayveas said this will be the second time the Cameron Highlands would be taken away from MyPPP.

He said previously it was taken away in 2004 and then again in the last election.

“Now that we have put in all the hard work, suddenly the party that had ignored the seat wants it back,” Kayveas said.

He added that to parachute in a candidate who had hardly done any work there would not bode well for BN.

He said the voters prefer a local and someone who has shown commitment to the people there.

“For us it is important that Barisan Nasional wins the seat but there is a strong possibility that a new face might be rejected by the voters,” he said.