MIC has shortlisted four candidates for the Cameron Highlands parliamentary by-election with party vice-president T. Murugiah considered the favourite, said party sources.

The other names in the hat are social activist K. Subramaniam , businessman A.K. Ramalingam and the Pahang Sabai state seat candidate in GE14, R. Goonasakaren.

All are members of the party’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,” said a party source. 

Murugiah, a one-time PPP Youth chief and deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department, has also done considerable work with the Orang Asli in Cameron Highlands during his time 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 opted to go with its 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.

The election court nullified the result of the May 9 Cameron Highlands seat after finding evidence of corruption to induce voters to vote for Sivarraajh, the BN candidate who won the five-cornered fight.

The Election Commission declared the MIC vice-president ineligible to contest the Cameron Highlands by-election on January 26 as he is implicated in said corrupt practices.

EC chairman Azhar Azizan Harun said the decision was made after consultation with legal experts.

Sivarraajh is also barred from registering as a voter or candidate for election for a period of five years from December 13, 2018.  

In GE14, Sivarraajh won the fight with 10,307 votes, gaining a slim 597-vote majority over DAP candidate M. Manogaran (9,710).

In that election, PAS garnered 3,587 votes, PSM (680) and Berjasa (81).

Cameron Highlands was one of two parliamentary seats MIC won in the elections.

DAP is once again expected to name Manogaran as its candidate and has started working the ground in preparation for the by-election, specifically targeting the Orang Asli.

Led by veteran leader Lim Kit Siang, a DAP team visited the Orang Asli settlements in Cameron Highlands over the weekend.

The Iskandar Puteri MP took along Bentong MP Wong Tack, Tanah Rata assemblyman Chiong Yoke Kong and Manogaran, along with a convoy of 12 vehicles.

During the visit, Lim proposed a national Orang Asli conference be held this month in Cameron Highlands to discuss and formulate a blueprint for their progress and development in Pakatan Harapan’s new Malaysia. – January 2, 2019.