Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Raklyat are in a vicious battle for the Bukit Selambau state seat with just two days to go before polling on April 7. With both sides going all out to grab the seat, it looks like no prisoners will be taken.

bukit selambau ceramah umum sungai lalang 040409 gobala krishnan BN candidate S Ganesan received a blow when Padang Serai PKR parliamentarian N Gobalakrishnan ( left ) revealed during a ceremah in Sungai Lalang yesterday that a police report had been filed against Ganesan and his law firm for allegedly embezzling some RM200,000 in a housing deal.

Clearly hoping to taint Ganesan’s "Mr Clean" image, Gobalakrishnan condemned Ganesan for “consuming the hard-earned savings of the poor people”.

The complainant, BK Kandasamy, a village head from Kampung Belanga Pecah, Langkawi claimed that 127 people including himself had purchased low-cost houses at Sungai Raya Kisap Kuah for RM25,000 each and hired Ganesan's firm to undertake the sales-and-purchase agreement.

bukit selambau ceramah umum sungai lalang 040409 police report kandasamy Kandasamy ( left ) stated in the report that in September 1999, he and a group of other villagers from Kampung Belangga Pecah were introduced to Ganesan and chose him to represent their interests to developer Boon Siew Sdn Bhd.

It was also stated in the report that Ganesan was in charge of coordinating bank loans and was paid consultation fees of RM300 and a RM1,900 deposit by each purchaser.

However, after 10 years and although the houses have been completed, only 50 have moved into their houses, claimed Kandasamy.

Kandasamy, when contacted by Malaysiakini , added that a single mother who goes by the name Kamala paid Ganesan RM9,700 deposit to purchase the house.

'We were cheated'

“We were cheated and that is why I have come forward to lodge the complaint,” said Kandasamy.

bukit selambau ceramah umum sungai lalang 040409 crowd Asked why he choose the election period to reveal this matter, Kandasamy said: “I do not have any damaging intention towards Ganesan. I know him well and I was once a MIC member too... but as a lawyer he has not done what he had promised to us

“The lawyers keep telling us to do this and that... but how much can we do.

bukit selambau s ganesan jogging campaign 300309 03 “Because so many of us are Indians, we have approached MIC for help on countless occasions but they were hopeless... I am doing this so that somebody will be able to help us get proper houses,” said Kandasamy.

Ganesan ( far left ), when contacted for comments, however, denied there were wrongdoings on his part but he acknowledged that some of the villagers who purchased the houses have yet to get the greenlight to move in.

“The houses don't have separate titles as the land was not subdivided during the construction... so when we applied for bank loans, on the list were some villagers who did not have any income and they were unsuccessful,” said Ganesan.

Blacklisted by the bank

He told Malaysiakini that Kandasamy’s house was initially registered under the name of his wife but she was blacklisted by the bank.

bukit selambau state seat kedah 110209 Similarly, when the lawyers tried to apply for a loan under Kandasamy's name, the bank also rejected the application as he too was blacklisted.

Ganesan also clarified that the RM300 consultation fee that was paid was banked into the clients' account and he has not “touched one sen of it”.

“The five percent deposit of RM1,900 that was paid by the villagers in 2002, was sent to the developer Boon Siew in the same year,” he said.

"The problem is we are not able to get loans for all of them, as some of them hardly have a steady income," said Ganesan.

“I think somebody had instigated them to make such a report and I will sue them if the report is false,” he asserted.

Ganesan, however, said he is not afraid these allegations will affect his campaign or that of the voters.

bukit selambau by election samy vellu ceramah 010409 01 Meanwhile, MIC president S Samy Vellu, who was visiting a Tamil school in the district, slammed Gobalakrishnan for bringing up the housing issue and police report against Ganesan.

Samy Vellu, who was clearly upset by the issue left without explaining the matter further.

Earlier, Samy Vellu said that MIC had approved RM3,000 each for Tekun Nasional loan applications to 150 people involved in small and medium industries.