Businessman Santhara to take on Subra in Segamat

PETALING JAYA: Businessman Edmund Santhara will take on MIC president Dr S Subramaniam for the Segamat parliamentary seat in the upcoming polls, according to Johor PKR chief Hassan Karim.

Speaking to FMT, Hassan said Santhara’s nomination had been endorsed by the PKR central leadership.

“We feel Santhara has a good chance of unseating Subramaniam this time around as he has been serving the constituents for the last three years,” he added.

Hassan said the recent redelineation exercise by the Election Commission had also revealed that the shift in voter composition was not too drastic.

In the 2013 general election, Subramaniam defeated PKR’s Chua Jui Meng with a 1,217-vote majority.

Last month, he confirmed that he would defend his seat in the coming election, ending months of speculation that he would move to another constituency.

The former health minister said there was no reason for him to move as his chances looked good, given the work the government had done in Segamat over the past five years.

However, he acknowledged the opinion of many that it would be difficult for him to defend the seat due to voter demographics.

Chinese comprise 46% of Segamat’s 47,000 voters while Malays make up 44% and Indians 10%. - FMT