Kapar to see three-way fight
> Seat set to be Indian battleground despite increased Malay majority
KLANG: The Kapar parliamentary seat is likely to see a continued tussle between Indian leaders from several parties despite the recent redelineation exercise that has made it a super Malay-majority area.
The seat, which once had the highest number of constituents in the country with 146,317 voters, now has 125,231 voters following the redelineation exercise.
It has three state seats, namely Meru, Sementa and Selat Klang compared with four during the 13th general election (GE13). The Sungai Pinang state seat has since been absorbed into the Klang parliamentary seat and renamed Bandar Baru Klang.
The parliamentary seat now has 88,528 (70.71%) Malays; 18,521 (14.79%) Chinese; 16,968 (13.55%) Indians and 1,214 (0.95%) of other races, a far cry from 2013 when Malay voters made up only 51% of the 144,159 voters.
Former Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam is planning to contest both the parliamentary seat and the Meru state seat this time around.
“The constituents are aware of my track record and I intend to repay the support they first gave me by continuing to serve them should I be given the mandate,” the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) member told theSun when contacted yesterday.
The former PKR member left the party last month due to dissatisfaction with party members after he was earlier handed a two-year suspension following a speech he made at the Sri Balathandayuthapani temple in Kapar in April last year.
Having served a single term as the MP, Manikavasagam was dropped as candidate for Kapar and contested in the Bukit Melawati state seat but lost.
PKR’s incumbent MP G. Manivannan has also expressed his willingness to defend the seat despite the recent changes to the seat’s demographics.
“The irony is that despite having one state seat and two voting districts moved out of the constituency, BN has decided to keep the seat for MIC,” he said.
Manivannan’s response came after MIC confirmed on Tuesday that it will be contesting the parliamentary seat.
When contacted, Kapar MIC division chairman Gopala Krishnan Reddy said the party will contest the seat but is waiting for party president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam to officially announce the candidate.