Four state assemblypersons have publicly pledged their support for S Raveentharan ( right in picture ), who is seeking mandate as chairperson in the Bukit Gelugor PKR division election on Sunday.

Spokesperson for the elected representatives, Kebun Bunga assemblyperson Jason Ong Khan Lee, called on members to support Raveentharan, who is the Batu Uban representative, as the latter had been loyal to the party.

NONE "He has stuck with the party even in its most difficult times, after 2004, when we lost badly to BN, retaining only one seat in Parliament," Ong told a press conference in Taman Brown today.

"Raveentharan is also very helpful to whoever needs his support or help. As a YB, he responds very quickly and sincerely on any issue," he said.

Bukit Mertajam assemblyperson Tan Hock Leong also vouched for Raveentharan, saying he had "a good track record and was a courageous lawyer who was brave enough to sue his master".

Besides Ong and Tan, endorsement for Raveentharan also came from Sim Tze Tsin (Pantai Jerejak) and Ong Chin Wen (Batu Kawan), all of whom would surely be frowned upon by Lim Boo Chang, Raveentharan's opponent for the division chairman's post.

Lim, who is the Bukit Gelugor deputy chair, held a press conference last night to criticise the campaign tactics of Raveentharan's supporters, that he alleged included damning SMSes and procedural irregularities such as delayed notification to members on the election date.

He appealed for the Bukit Gelugor polls not to be marred by irregularities similar to what had happened in Bayan Baru .

Criticised for jumping ship

Raveentharan is supposedly linked to Team Reformist leader and Pantai Jerejak assemblyperson Sim Tze Tsin, who has been accused of having cheated his way to victory last week.

NONE Lim ( right ), the former Dato Keramat assemblyperson, also alleged that Raveentharan and his Team Berjiwa Rakyat had tried to undermine his chances of winning by condemning his background.

Lim is perceived as a "frog" for jumping ship from Gerakan to MCA, and then eventually joining PKR after March 2008.

He and his Team Progressive also launched a series of attacks on Raveentharan, that included not opening a bank account for the division, not banking in a cheque for RM5,000 from the state PKR and using the state government's logo for election campaign purposes.

Raveentharan has also been criticised for not organising any programmes while he was division chief and for sacking his personal assistants according to his whims and fancies.

Raveentharan declined to be dragged into the controversy during the press conference, and refrained from condemning Lim.

He merely requested all members to come out and vote for the best candidate at the polling centre in Taman Tun Sardon on Sunday, that will be open from 10am to 4pm.

Responding to Lim's allegations on behalf of Raveentharan, Bukit Gelugor PKR division treasurer A Francis Xavier said several activities have been organised for the area without using division funds.

Xavier also explained the delay in opening the division's bank account saying they had waited for the official registration letter from the state leadership, that only came in March this year.

'Notification sent a month ago'

As for late notices on the election, Xavier dismissed the allegations saying the letters were sent out to members in three batches about a month ago.

"Many of the letters were returned, but they had been sent out. Please be reminded that in the past month, there had been several public holidays" he said.

Meanwhile, a division member Cheah Peng Guan responded on the SMSes sent to members seeking support for Raveentharan.

Cheah read out to reporters two SMSes that called on members to vote for Raveentharan for his loyalty, in order to "save the party".

This indirectly implied that members were encouraged not to vote for Lim due to his political background.

"You can judge for yourself if the SMSes are damaging to anyone's reputation... they are based on facts. Is there anything wrong in this?" Cheah asked.