Bkt Selambau: PKR fields entrepreneur S. Manikumar, 35

Entrepreneur S. Manikumar, 35, an ordinary PKR member from Sungai Petani, has been picked as the party’s candidate for the Bukit Selambau by-election.
His candidacy was announced Friday by PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at Yayasan Aman, a PKR operations centre in Sungai Lalang near here.
Manikumar, who has a tourism management degree and an MBA from Universiti Utara Malaysia, joined PKR two years ago and is a first time election candidate.
He is married to a secondary school teacher and they have a six-year-old daughter.
They live in Taman Ria Jaya here.
Manikumar had previously worked as a marketing consultant for companies in Thailand and Tanzania.
He also has experience in oil palm and vehicle trading.
In a press conference after the announcement of his candidacy which was attended by some 500 people, Manikumar said the by-election was a struggle for all races in the country.
Anwar said Manikumar was selected from 15 potential candidates, all professionals with impressive credentials, who were shortlisted by PKR for the by-election.
He said Pakatan Rakyat wanted to have a young Indian leader in Bukit Selambau who could represent and fight for all the races.
He also said former Bukit Selambau assemblyman V. Arumugam had contacted him a few days ago and had given his blessings for Manikumar’s candidacy.
Anwar, however, did not disclose where Arumugam is presently. The Bukit Selambau seat fell vacant after Arumugam resigned on Feb 8.
Nomination day for the by-election is March 29 while polling is on April 7.
Barisan Nasional had earlier announced that Kedah MIC deputy chairman Datuk S. Ganesan would be the coalition’s candidate. Manikumar and Ganesan are expected to face several independent candidates who have expressed their desire to stand for election.
Bukit Selambau has 35,140 voters of whom about 50% are Malays, 30% Indians and 20% Chinese.
In last year’s general election, Arumugam stood as an independent candidate to defeat MIC’s S. Krishnan by 2,362 votes in a straight fight. He joined PKR after winning the seat.
Meanwhile, there appears to be strong opposition to PKR’s choice of a political novice to contest the by-election scheduled.
Many, including Makkal Sakthi as well as PKR Indian leaders have expressed their disappointment to PKR leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim after his announcement in Sungei Petani.
Makkal Sakthi coordinator R. Kannan said they were disappointed with the choice as several others proposed by Hindraf had not been considered.
He said Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) chairperson P. Waythamoorthy had urged Anwar to consider Makkal Sakthi coordinator S. Thanenthiran, lawyer R. Surendran or Internal Security Act (ISA) detainee Vasantha Kumar.
“We wanted one of them as we wanted our voice in the government. This is the first time we made such a request,” he said when contacted.
Kannan said he had received numerous calls from Makkal Sakthi leaders from all over the country as they were very unhappy with the candidate.
“We will not boycott the by-election but our involvement will be far less aggressive than in the March 2008 general elections.
“We were the ones who canvassed support for independent V. Arumugam and got him to join PKR. Our efforts have not been recognised by the PKR leadership,” he said.
Kannan said PKR had the right to choose Manikumar but he had not even been seen in the political activities in the state.
“We know this will be major setback in Makkal Sakthi’s relationship with PKR but we will wait and see what Manikumar’s plans are for the Indian community,” he said.
Kedah Community Welfare Association president Y. Baskaran, who is also the Padang Serai PKR member, said they had questioned Anwar’s decision.
“We wanted to know the basis for the choice as Manikumar had never held the PKR flag, spoken in a ceramah or participated in any political struggle,” he said.
Baskaran said many were also concerned as they believed that an Indian businessman, who is Anwar’s close confidante, was meddling in the selection of the candidates.
“We believe this is the beginning of PKR’s downfall for not respecting the wishes of the Indians in the party,” he said.
A PKR official said the Indian leaders in Merbuk division had registered their protest to Anwar after the announcement was made.
“He (Anwar) was dumbfounded when we gave our views. We hope he will reconsider his decision or there will be serious problems,” he said.
The official said Anwar’s choice would pave the way for Barisan Nasional candidate Datuk S. Ganesan to win the Bukit Selambau seat.