Sungai Siput: 'Tis the season of upsets?

Taking on a political heavyweight like MIC president S Samy Vellu is no easy feat and Parti Sosisalis Malaysia (PSM) leader Dr D Jeyakumar has failed twice in a row already.

However, this time around PSM and Jeyakumar are hoping to be third-time lucky since the political climate is such.

The duo will be embroiled in a three-cornered fight for the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat with little known independent Nor Rizan Oon, 49.

Samy Vellu, who will be defending the seat which he has held for seven-terms since 1974, has seen is popularity wavering in recent months since the emergence of the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

Despite expectations of a substantial swing among the roughly 10,000 Indian voters in PSM's favour, Jeyakumar said that he was still not confident of winning the seat.

"Confident? No. However, I will give it a good try because now is a good time (to win the seat)," said Jeyakumar, who will be contesting on a PKR ticket.

Other than Samy Vellu's advantage as a incumbent and long-time serving cabinet minister, PSM also risks backlash from DAP supporters, he explained.

Playing spoilers

PSM has decided to field their candidate M Sarasvathy for the Jelapang state seat resulting in a three-cornered fight against DAP incumbent Hee Yit Soong and MCA's Loh Koi Pin.

This resulted from failed seat talks between DAP and PSM for the Jalong state seat which is being contested by the former and will see a straight fight.

PSM had previously threatened to field an independent candidate in Jelapang should it not be given the Jalong state seat, which is under the Sungai Siput parliamentary constituency.

"I expect some 25 percent of hardcore DAP supporters to not vote for me (due to PSM's involvement in the Jelapang three-cornered fight)," said Jeyakumar.

Nevertheless, Jeyakumar said that PSM has fulfilled all its promises to Sungai Siput voters and was known among the populace because their public service centre has been in operation for eight years.

Meanwhile, Samy Vellu told reporters today that he was confident that he would retain his seat as he believed that the opposition was unable to garner any support.

On Nor Rizan joining the fray, Samy Vellu said: "Very good. Congratulations to him."

Mystery independent candidate

Nor Rizan's unexpected nomination caught candidates and media personnel off-guard. He also surprisingly paid his RM10,000 deposit in a thick bundle of crisp RM100 bills.

He was coy when asked about his reasons for contesting. His answers ranged from "doing it for experience" to the fact that he was local born.

"All this while, the candidates for Sungai Siput are outsiders. Maybe this time, an anak watan (local boy) should contest for parliament," said Nor Rizan, who claims to own an engineering firm in Shah Alam.

He was also repeatedly quizzed on his method of campaigning and issues that he would bring up to which he mostly replied "Wait and see" and "I'll tell you later".

He also claimed that he was "serious" in his contest and would not withdraw within the stipulated three-day period from nomination day.

Nominations for the Sungai Siput seat also saw three objections against Samy Vellu's nomination papers - two of which was over his use of the word "minister" for his occupation and one was a poser over his birth date.

It is common knowledge that Samy Vellu's birth date is March 8. However, based on his identity card number stated on the nomination form, it was stated as June 20.

Quizzed by reporters on what was his actual birth date, Samy Vellu replied: "This I cannot comment".

In 2004, 19,029 out of the total 46,783 voters voted for Samy Vellu. The Chinese form the largest number of voters at 41 percent, followed by Malays (31 percent) and Indians (22.5).

Nomination papers for the Jalong and Lintang state seats were also filed at the same nomination centre today.

The Jalong state seat would see a contest between Gerakan's Cheah Chee Kuan and DAP's Lee Mee Meng. Incumbent Ahamad Pakeh Adam from Umno would be defending the Lintang state seat