KUALA KUBU BHARU: MIC information chief P Kamalanathan has been picked as the Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate in the upcoming Hulu Selangor by-election, following some last-minute uncertainty on Thursday, April 15, over the MIC choice.
The announcement was made by BN deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin at a well-attended event here on Thursday.
Kamalanathan, 44, a public relations director for rice retailer Bernas' subsidiary Serba Wangi Sdn Bhd, was seen as a "compromise" candidate after eleventh hour disagreements in the MIC camp.
From the word go, MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu had been backing his deputy and former Hulu Selangor member of parliament Datuk G Palanivel as the party's only choice, strenuously rejecting another potential candidate, MIC deputy youth chief V Mugilan.
Muhyiddin and other Umno leaders were said to be against fielding Palanivel to recontest the semi-rural parliamentary seat, preferring instead MIC deputy youth chief V Mugilan as a fresh face and a local.
The temperature was raised further on Wednesday night when the MIC central working committee at an emergency meeting had resolved to not endorse any candidate other than Palanivel.
Samy Vellu had also announced that MIC was currently investigating Mugilan for allegedly "stealing" the candidacy from Palanivel, and threated to sack Mugilan and any other member found to be working against MIC.
In a lengthy speech before announcing Kamalanathan as BN's candidate in Bukit Sentosa here on Thursday, Muhyiddin paid tribute to Palanivel's contribution in the Hulu Selangor area over the years and lauded Samy Vellu as "the great Samy Vellu" and "my big brother".
Muhyiddin, who is deputy prime minister, said that voters in Hulu Selangor wanted "a new breeze, a new wind of change" and was confident that Kamalanathan would be accepted by voters.
BN's event was attended by about 2,000 people and BN component party leaders, including MCA deputy president Datuk Seri Liow Tiong Lai, Gerakan president Tan Sri Dr Koh Tsu Koon, Liberal Democratic Party president Datuk Liew Vui Keong and People's Progressive Party president Datuk M Kayveas.
At a press conference later, Muhyiddin revealed that Kamalanathan was on the list of potential MIC candidates but "only stood out" after several discussions.
Kamalanathan, a resident of Rawang which is located next to the vast Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency, is a regular speaker on current affairs talk shows and a part-time lecturer in a private college.
Muhyiddin, who is also education minister, said that feedback from the ground showed that voters wanted a new candidate. He hoped that Palanivel would help BN's bid for victory.
Asked why Palanivel did not attend the announcement event, Muhyiddin said Palanivel could have other duties to attend to or perhaps was slightly disappointed.
Muhyiddin took a swipe at the PKR candidate, former de facto law minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim, who is seen to be a political "heavyweight".
"Maybe in size Zaid is heavier than our candidate. lf you look at Zaid's record, it isn't that clean. He's an outsider, very lightweight, in fact, featherweight," Muhyiddin said.
Speaking to reporters later, Kamalanathan vowed to "return the BN stronghold" to the ruling coalition and said he would deliver the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat as a "present" for Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak's first anniversary as prime minister.
Kamalanathan said he was confident that he would get broad support and dismissed talk of dissatisfaction in the MIC over his candidacy.
"I am the representative of Barisan Nasional, I represent the brand of 1Malaysia," he said.
"I am like a soldier that has been placed by the leader of the war. The prime minister has named me as a soldier and with the help of other BN soldiers, we'll face the challenge," he said.
To a question, Kamalanathan said he was "shocked" and moved to tears when informed of his candidacy by Samy Vellu at noon on Thursday, as he was not expecting to be fielded.
He declined to comment on his opponent, saying that he would take to the hustings and emphasise BN's struggles and development opportunities.
Speaking to reporters earlier, Samy Vellu said Najib had "approved" of the choice of candidate and MIC has accepted it.
"I promised DPM (Muhyiddin) that he will say everything (today). We will all listen to him. We will stand behind and listen to commands and directives to ensure absolute victory in the by-election," Samy Vellu said.
Asked if local branches had accepted the decision, a stoic Samy Vellu said, "They will be okay. Depends on how it will work. If the candidate is from MIC, no problem".
The Hulu Selangor MIC division had earlier threatened to shut down its branches if Palanivel was not fielded.
Asked if he was anticipating any sabotage, the longtime MIC chief said, "Normally we don't sabotage. We have not learnt the art yet."
The Hulu Selangor by-election was called following the death of its incumbent MP Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad of PKR on March 25.
Zainal Abidin had won the seat in the 2008 general election with a slim 198-vote majority against Palanivel, who had been Hulu Selangor's elected representative from 1990 to 2008.
In this round, Kamalanathan and Zaid are expected to be joined by several independent candidates.
The Election Commission has fixed April 17 for nominations, leaving eight days of campaigning before Hulu Selangor voters go to the ballot on April 25.
The fight for the Hulu Selangor parliamentary seat is expected to be an intense battle, with PR and BN leaders thronging the constituency in the past weeks to ensure victory.
The Hulu Selangor parliamentary constituency has 64,500 registered voters including 799 postal voters. Malays make up the majority with 34,020 voters (52.7%) followed by the Chinese with 16,964 voters (26.3%), Indians at 12,453 voters (19.3%) while voters from other races constitute 1.7% of voters.
The Hulu Selangor seat was traditionally a BN stronghold, with the three state constituencies — Hulu Bernam, Kuala Kubu Bharu and Batang Kali — all held by BN representatives.