KUALA LUMPUR, Nov 4 — PKR’s incumbent Sungai Buloh MP Sivarasa Rasiah today cleared the air over why he was not chosen to be the candidate in the Selangor seat for the 15th general election (GE15), suggesting that a problem with his voice may have been a factor.
Sivarasa, who is also PKR’s legal bureau head, said he had believed he could still run an election campaign despite having voice problems, but said he accepts PKR president Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim’s decision to not field him.
“I have been asked by a number of people to clarify issues regarding why I am not the candidate for Sg Buloh after the recent public statements issued by Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim (DSAI) and Rafizi Ramli, president and deputy president of Parti Keadilan Rakyat.
“Over the last three months, I have been having problems with my vocal cords and am currently using a speech amplifier to assist and protect my current voice. DSAI had raised with me his concerns about this and whether I could manage the campaign. I had a differing view and explained how I would manage the campaign differently taking into account the state of my voice,” he said in a statement today.
Sivarasa said his name had remained as Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) candidate for Sungai Buloh right up until the morning of last Friday (October 28), and that it was only in the afternoon that he was told he would not be contesting the seat.
“About 5pm on that day, I received a text message from DSAI saying that after further discussion, he had decided that I would not be the candidate. DSAI had tried to call shortly before the text, but I could not take the call then.
“I fully accept the decision by DSAI as the head of the party. He has the right to make the final decision taking into account his perceived view of my health situation and any other factors which he considers relevant,” the Sungai Buloh PKR division chief said.
Sivarasa said the fact that incumbent health minister Khairy Jamaluddin would be the candidate for Barisan Nasional in the Sungai Buloh seat “has been known to us for some days, and was in fact brought to my attention by DSAI.”
Ultimately, Sivarasa urged for the “polemic” about him not being a candidate to stop, saying: “It is more important to focus on the campaign for PH to win Putrajaya.”
PKR deputy information chief (I) Datuk R. Ramanan has been named as the Sungai Buloh candidate for PH in GE15.
In the 14th general elections (GE14) in May 2018, Sivarasa had won against three other contenders in the Sungai Buloh seat, with a majority of 26,634 votes over PAS candidate Nuridah Mohd Salleh.
