CAMERON HIGHLANDS BY-ELECTION IS ON: MIC SNUBS ZAHID – REFUSES TO APPEAL COURT DECISION, TO FIELD SIVARRAAJH AGAIN

MIC will not appeal the Election Court’s decision to declare the Cameron Highlands seat vacant, said S. Vigneswaran.

This will set the stage for a by-election for the parliamentary seat in Pahang.

The party felt it will be better to seek a decision in the court of public opinion, the MIC president said.

“The court has found there is an element of fraud. In the given situation, we rather go to the people rather than appeal the decision.

“We believe the situation in the country has shifted towards Barisan Nasional. We believe we can get the Malay support. They are not happy with DAP,”  he told The Malaysian Insight.

Vigneswaran said the party will field C. Sivarraajh again.

RELATED STORY: Zahid: BN will to appeal court decision nullifying Cameron Highlands

The Cameron Highlands seat was declared vacant after a court found Sivarraajh guilty of bribing Orang Asli voters in the run-up to the May 9 general election.

Justice Azizah Nawawi said that a “pattern of giving money to voters during the period before the election” and corrupted practices had been proven.

The graft allegedly took place during meetings on April 28, May 3, 6-9 this year, as claimed by the petitioner, M. Manogaran, the DAP candidate for Cameron Highlands.

In the last elections, Sivaraajh defeated Manogaran by 567 votes to take the seat in a four-cornered contest.

Vigneswaran said the MIC party machinery in the constituency is ready for the coming battle and the party is determined to retain the seat.

Deputy president S. Saravanan is the party’s other MP, holding the Tapah seat.

The Cameron Highlands seat is not the only seat BN has lost at the Election Court.

Last month, the Seremban Election Court ordered a by-election for the Rantau state seat after allowing PKR candidate Dr Streram Sinnasamy’s application that the Election Commission had wrong denied him the right to file his nomination papers in GE14.

However, former Negri Sembilan menteri besar Mohamad Hasan, the incumbent, is appealing the decision.

The hearing for the appeal has yet to be set.

THE MALAYSIAN INSIGHT