MIC has shortlisted four candidates for the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat by-election with party vice-president T Murugiah considered the favourite, said party sources.
The other three are social activist K Subramaniam, businessman AK Ramalingam and the Pahang Sabai state seat candidate in GE14, R Goonasakaren, The Malaysian Insight reported.
All four are members of MIC’s central working committee and from the Kounder community, which is dominant among the Indian clans in Cameron Highlands.
“However, at this point, Murugiah is seen as the firm favourite as he has been doing work for years now in Cameron Highlands,” a party source was quoted as saying.
Murugiah, a one-time PPP Youth chief and deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, has also done much work with the Orang Asli in Cameron Highlands during his stint in Putrajaya.
“He was in charge of the Orang Asli Department and worked with the community in Cameron Highlands. He is no stranger to them as they are the community which tilted the polls outcome over the last two elections with their solid backing for Barisan Nasional,” said the source.
He was also considered as a candidate for the seat in last year’s general election but the party eventually chose then Youth chief C Sivarraajh.
Another source said all four have ramped up their presence in the constituency since the seat was declared vacant by the election court last year.
“They have been actively conducting programmes and engaging with Indians in the area,” said the source. – TMI