Karpal’s daughter, Sangeet to stand in Puchong?

PETALING JAYA: Sangeet Kaur Deo, daughter of the late Karpal Singh, is slated to make her debut in the Puchong parliamentary seat currently held by her older brother Gobind Singh, a party source said.

The source said Gobind is expected to leave Puchong for the Kulai parliamentary seat in Johor, which is now held by state DAP vice-chairperson Teo Nie Ching.

“Sangeet is the preferred candidate for the seat as the party wants to send more women representatives to the Dewan Rakyat,” the source told FMT on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.

Sangeet, who is also a lawyer, is also the Selangor DAP women’s wing deputy chief.

Sangeet grabbed media attention on Jan 8 when she voiced her reservations over the naming of Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the coalition’s prime minister should the opposition win the 14th general election (GE14).

Disagreeing with the move, she said the fact that the opposition had “no one else” to choose to be prime minister showed its lack of long-term strategy.

“The focus should always be on policies and principles (not personalities) and leaders must be groomed to ensure continuity.

“While it may be an act of desperation, as was our coalition with PAS at one point, will we be open to working with Najib (Prime Minister Najib Razak) one day, should desperate circumstances demand?” she had asked in a statement.

Meanwhile, the party source also said two-term Subang assemblywoman and Selangor state assembly speaker Hannah Yeoh could be another possible candidate to contest in Puchong.

DAP supremo Lim Kit Siang, in a statement on Sunday, announced that the party hopes at least three new woman MPs would be elected in the new Parliament – namely, Hannah Yeoh, Wong Shu Qui and Yeo Bee Yin, who will leave the state seat of Damansara in Selangor to contest in the Bakri parliamentary seat in Johor.

Lim said the parliamentary seats for Yeo and Wong, who is currently the assemblywoman for Senai, will be announced in due course, although he did not discount the possibility of the DAP announcing more woman parliamentary candidates.

It is also unclear whether Teo would contest another parliamentary seat or a state seat in GE14.

At present, DAP has four woman MPs – Teo (Kulai), Kasthuri Patto (Batu Kawan), Teresa Kok (Seputeh) and Alice Lau (Lanang).

Apart from Gobind, who is the party’s national deputy chairman, two other children of Karpal are also holding public office.

Karpal’s eldest son Jagdeep Singh is a two-term Datok Keramat assemblyman and state executive councillor in the DAP-led Penang government.

Another son, Ramkarpal Singh won the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat in a by-election on May 25, 2014 with a 37,659-vote majority.

The seat became vacant after Karpal, the then DAP national chairman, died in a car accident near Kampar, Perak on April 17, 2014. -FMT