Manikavasagam joins PRM, to take on former party in Kapar(Sun)

Manikavasagam joins PRM, to take on former party in Kapar

Posted on 7 April 2018 - 01:26pm
Last updated on 7 April 2018 - 03:32pm

Amar Shah Mohsen
newsdesk@thesundaily.com

Manikavasagam clad in the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) colours, after announcing he is joining the party, on April 7, 2018.

KAPAR: S. Manikavasagam (pix) today announced he was joining Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) and would contest in the Kapar parliamentary seat and take on PKR, the party he left just two days ago.

Making the announcement at a press conference here, the former PKR supreme council member said he had been mistreated by his former party which led him to his resignation.

Manikavasagam, who was Kapar MP from 2008 to 2013 under the PKR banner, was suspended by the party in August last year for two years for allegedly slandering party de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim at a speech in a temple here last April.

He claimed he was framed by another PKR leader Dr Xavier Jayakumar, saying he had never uttered those words, and that he did not receive any response from the party over his appeal since.

"Xavier lodged the report to PKR, but he was not even in the temple. Because of him I was suspended. So I'm challenging him to stand in Kapar against me.

"Be it him or (incumbent Kapar MP) G. Manivannan, I have no problem. What's important is Indians should never vote for him (Xavier)," he said.

Pakatan Harapan (PH) has allocated the Kapar parliamentary seat to PKR for the 14th General Election.

Manikavasagam, who was also formerly PKR Kuala Selangor division chief, rejoins PRM, a party he first joined in 1999 before leaving for PKR in 2000, saying: "I'm leaving all my positions in PKR to serve the people under PRM."

He said he had also decided to leave PKR following its decision to accept Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad to lead the Pakatan Harapan coalition and be named as Prime Minister candidate.

"Tun was the reason why many Indians here did not have citizenship, even my mother. She lived here for 60 years, and was still stateless until she died in 2010.

"My family and I, we can never forget this, and we can never accept Mahathir as our leader," he said, adding that he had also been approached by MIC and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) to join their parties.

Meanwhile, at the press conference, PRM chairman Ariffin Salimon announced that the party would contest in five parliamentary seats and 15 state seats, with Manikavasagam to also stand in the Selat Klang state seat.

He added that future announcements would be made on which seats the party would contest in other states. -Sun Daily, 7/4/2018