Zahid: BN to let MIC contest Cameron Highlands seat
KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC will be given the opportunity to contest the Cameron Highlands seat, if a by-election is held.
Barisan Nasional chairman Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi said Cameron Highlands was the MIC’s permanent seat.
He said BN respected the issue of seat allocation as agreed previously with its coalition partners.
“We will support the candidate chosen,” he said after chairing a BN meeting with the coalition’s Dewan Negara senators.
Present were BN vice-chairman Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob and secretary-general Datuk Seri Mohamed Nazri Abdul Aziz.
On Friday, the Special Election Court declared BN’s 14th General Election victory in Cameron Highlands null and void.
Judge Datuk Azizah Nawawi held that corrupt practices had been proven to have been committed with the knowledge and consent of the respondent (Datuk C. Sivarraajh) in the election, namely giving of money to voters to induce them to vote for BN.
In GE-14, Sivarraajh won the Cameron Highlands seat, which involved a five-cornered fight with a majority of 597 votes.
Sivarraajh, who garnered 10,307 votes, beat M. Manogaran from DAP, who received 9,710 votes; Wan Mahadir Wan Mahmud of Pas (3,587), Mohd Tahir Kassim from Barisan Jemaah Islamiah Se-Malaysia (81) and B. Suresh Kumar from Parti Sosialis Malaysia (680).
Asked on whether BN would appeal the decision, Zahid said it was up to MIC.