Pakatan Rakyat is running the risk of losing the Indian support in Bukit Selambau - which proved to be vital in winning the seat during the last general election - as a result of its choice of candidate for the by-election.

Community leaders are unhappy with PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim's chosen candidate S Manikumar who they see as a parachute candidate without any local base or support.

anwar bukit selambau pkr candidate manikumar 200309 10 Anwar announced on Friday that car dealer Manikumar, 35, would be contesting in the seat. The announcement was immediately greeted with a chorus of disapproval by several local PKR leaders.

And now community leaders - who mushroomed in the wake of the Hindraf wave since October 2007 - are threatening not to cooperate with Pakatan and Manikumar in the run up to the polling day on April 7.

"Who is Manikumar? We have never seen him in this area. He was never present for any community events or struggles," said Paya Besar, Kulim social service centre head YP Baskaran.

In fact some of these leaders are also questioning Manikumar's credibility as a clean candidate.

"There are some serious issues concerning his business dealings as a car dealer. Many people have complained to us about this," said Hindraf national coordinator RS Thanenthiren.

"We want Anwar to reconsider his choice. We give him until today evening to make a decision on this matter. If he wants to stick with Manikumar, then I think it is a mistake which Pakatan will regret later," he told Malaysiakini .

Hindraf wielding its muscle

suaram human rights award 091208 rs thanenthiran Thanenthiren said that most of the Indian voters in Bukit Selambau were Hindraf supporters and this was proven during the last general election last March when they worked hard to vote in V Arumugam, who was an independent candidate.

"The Hindraf supporters here worked very hard in ensuring that Arumugam won. They made sure that MIC which was traditionally strong here would not have it easy.

"And now they are disappointed that their efforts had not been recognised by Anwar in not naming a candidate who is close to them and the movement," he added.

Arumugam joined PKR soon after the elections and was made a state exco member. He then made a shocking decision to quit his seat and state exco position in February, claiming that pressures from Barisan Nasional asking him to defect have become unbearable.

"Anwar must realise that the candidate he picks will be made an exco member, representing the Indians not just in Bukit Selambau but also in the whole of Kedah," added Thanenthiren.

While Thanenthiren was among those promoted by the local Hindraf leaders as the candidate, he however said what was important was to have a candidate who was accepted by the local voters.

"It is only wise that Anwar picked someone who is well known to the people and can actually serve the community," he said.

It must be noted that Thanenthiren wields some influence among the Indians here in Kedah, especially in Bukit Selambau, in his capacity as the national coordinator of Hindraf.

No consultation process

Other community leaders are also upset with Anwar for not consulting them on the choice of candidate.

They are also claiming that the PKR chief had not consulted local PKR leaders from the community.

"There are so many other capable candidates in PKR. If not them, there are also some local Hindraf leaders. If they were unsuitable, Anwar could have chosen someone capable from DAP, or even an Indian representative from PAS," said Kedah Makkal Sakthi (people power) coordinator R Ramu.

Some of these leaders also doubt Manikumar's two-year-old membership in PKR.

"Anwar will have to reconsider his choice. Otherwise, it will be difficult for PKR to win this seat without the Indian votes," added another local community leader.

However it is quite certain that Anwar will not buck from his decision in picking Manikumar, who is learnt to be Arumugam's choice as a candidate.

bukit selambau by-election bn candidate 140309 s ganesan Manikumar could not be contacted for comments. He will be facing MIC's S Ganesan ( photo ) and a handful of independent candidates in the by-election.

The news about the community anger against PKR's choice of candidate is sure to add some zest to the MIC campaign.

MIC president S Samy Vellu, fresh from retaining his party post again today, is set to spend more days in Bukit Selambau - has he had been doing in the past weeks - to woo the Indian voters back to support the party.

And his selling point would not just be the ongoing rebranding exercise of MIC but also on the apparent unsuitability of Manikumar to represent the people there, as claimed by the ‘champions of people' Hindraf and Makkal Sakthi leaders.