Recently revealed PKR candidate for Bukit Selambau, S Manikumar, said that he does not fear the rumours and allegations against him.

anwar bukit selambau pkr candidate manikumar 200309 09 It is learnt that two police reports were lodged against Manikumar by a businessman, one over the sale of a lorry and the other for threatening to beat him up.

Contacted by Malaysiakini , Manikumar said that the allegations are ridiculous and they are not related to him.

When asked about rumours that Indian voters may boycott him, plus claims that he is an “outsider”, he replied that it is just rumours spread by those who are unhappy with him as the PKR candidate.

PKR leader Anwar Ibrahim had announced on Friday that car dealer Manikumar would be the candidate for the seat. The announcement was immediately greeted with a chorus of disapproval by several local PKR leaders.

Manikumar, who has been an ordinary party member since 2007, said that he would be representing all races as the candidate for PKR.

He said that everything is running smoothly and he is confident that he will be able to win the seat for Pakatan Rakyat as the voters support Pakatan.

Political situation changes everyday

Manikumar has a degree in business from UUM. He is also a car dealer in Sungai Pasir, Padang Temesu, located within Bukit Selambau and is also a resident of Bukit Selambau.

Furthermore, he said that being a Kedah-born and able to speak fluently in bahasa Kedah, he has the confidence to contest and win the crucial by-election on April 7.

Manikumar will face Barisan Nasional's S Ganesan, who is from MIC, and a number of independents in the by-election.

bukit selambau by-election bn candidate 140309 s ganesan Meanwhile, Ganesan told Malaysiakini that no one should be overestimated or underestimated as the political situation changes everyday.

“I’m now working very hard to introduce myself to the people, and to let them know me better,” said the former Lunas assemblyman.

He added that a plus point for him is that he is a local and he has been receiving positive responses from the people.

“The voters are mature, they just want to see who can serve them the best,” he said.

More than seven independents have indicated their intentions to vie for the state constituency. But it is not clear how many would actually contest the seat.

Among them, R Loganathan, told Malaysiakini that he will not pull out from the contest. According to Loganathan, if Manikumar is boycotted by the Indian voters, it will result in more votes going to him, adding that he is currently preparing for nomination day.

Another independent candidate, Tan Hock Huat, said he is giving the voters another choice.

bukit selambau independent candidate tan hock huat 090309 “The voters would want someone with no hidden agenda and is transparent and can speak for the people,” said Tan.

When asked about the chances of him winning the seat, Tan said that he is very positive about the outcome as “Barisan is not very popular among the voters and PKR is very messy now as they face some issues”.

Apart from Loganathan and Tan, a few other independents are believed to have paid their deposits to the Election Commission.

The seat fell vacant following the sudden resignation of V Arumugam on Feb 9 as an elected representative and Kedah executive councillor. Arumugam won the seat as an independent and subsequently joined PKR.