WORK continues at the service centres of the Gadek and Seremban Jaya assemblymen, albeit with less spring in staff’s step.

The aides and family members of the detained DAP duo have stepped up to fill in for the men, who are in detention on charges of having links to the Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam (LTTE).

At G. Saminathan’s service centre in Malacca, four staff members have been running the show since the Gadek rep was arrested on October 10 last year.

Office secretary Muhammad Iftiqar Baharuddin said the work atmosphere has drastically changed in Saminathan’s absence.

The centre has received fewer visitors since his arrest and indictment.

In Seremban Jaya, meanwhile, Nancy Gunasekaran, daughter of assemblyman P. Gunasekaran, is managing the service centre for the Negri Sembilan state seat.

“People who come to the service centre ask when my father will be released. I don’t have an answer. I just hope he can be released soon,” she told The Malaysian Insight.

Saminathan, 38 and Gunasekaran, 60, are among 12 men charged last year with having links to LTTE.

All were arrested and held under the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012.

The men were found to have been in possession of materials that purportedly show support for the group, which became defunct in 2009 at the end of the Sri Lankan civil war.

However, Tamil people around the world remember the fallen fighters with the annual Heroes’ Day, the commemoration of which was attended by the two assemblymen last year.

Saminathan’s bail application has been denied by the high court, which ruled that bail is not allowed for persons charged with a security offence.

The judge also held that LTTE, although defunct, is still listed as a terrorist organisation on the government gazette.

Still open

At Saminathan’s service centre, Iftiqar said at least 25 people used to turn up for help every Tuesday, its open day.

“But since the arrest, we only get about five to six cases (each week).

“When Saminathan was around, he would come to the office to meet members of the public every Tuesday from 9am until lunchtime. The office would get so crowded then.”

Most of the cases filed at the centre are requests for financial aid or minor complaints about neighbourhood matters, he said.

The assemblyman used to meet voters on alternate Saturdays at a booth at the Pulau Sebang market, where he took complaints. 

Iftiqar said Saminathan opened the booth to cater to constituents who worked on weekdays and could not come to the service centre on Tuesdays. 

“He would be at the market two Saturdays a month, from 8am to 11am, for the public to submit complaints, raise issues with us… anything.

“He liked the direct approach.”

Saminathan’s team still runs the booth, he added.

In the rep’s absence, his aides consult Bandar Hilir assemblyman Tey Kok Kiew for advice.

Iftiqar said it is important that good decisions be made even in Saminathan’s absence as the outcome would reflect on him, and Tey is always ready and willing to help.

Malacca Chief Minister Adly Zahari has visited the service centre a couple of times since Saminathan’s arrest.

It is important that Saminathan maintains a good reputation, said Iftiqar, as the rep won Gadek by a razor-thin majority of 307 votes in the 2018 elections.

Saminathan, who was a lorry driver before the polls, is also the Malacca exco in charge of unity, human resources, civil society organisations and consumer affairs. His portfolio has since been divided among other exco members. 

Voters first

Nancy, meanwhile, shuttles between Seremban Jaya and Sg Buloh Prison to see her father and get him to sign off on official constituency business.

He signs cheques and documents, and gives her advice on complex cases.

“Previously, he was only allowed to make one call to the family every week. I would discuss cases brought to the service centre with him during these calls, and he would guide me.

“Now, we are allowed to meet him once a week for an hour. I put all the cheques and documents into a file for him. He signs what he thinks is necessary. I collect the file the following day. That’s how we do things now.”

She said she is motivated by her father, who “is more concerned about the people in his constituency than his own family”.

“He has lived that way, and continues to do so,” she said, adding that she is thankful for the support of DAP members.

Nancy has two full-time and two part-time workers manning the service centre.

One of their tasks is to let voters know that the centre is still open.

Nancy said many believed that the centre was closed after her father’s arrest.

Rasah MP Cha Kee Chin has been helping her spread the word.

“We are open six days a week. Mondays and Fridays were the days when Gunasekaran would meet his constituents, so we are open from 9am to 9pm on these days,” said Nancy.

“The numbers are slowly picking up again.” – February 14, 2020.