Santhara wants to defend Segamat as PBM seeks to join BN

 

Incumbent Segamat MP Edmund Santhara Kumar Ramanaidu wants to defend the Johor parliamentary seat in the general election.

This comes amid a bid by Party Bangsa Malaysia (PBM) - which he recently joined - to become a BN component party.

The Vibes cited Santhara as saying he has strong support from voters in Segamat, including Muslims, Christians, and Orang Asli.

“I have asked all of them whether I should stand and contest, and they want me to stand. Therefore, I think I have to defend the Segamat seat.”

The former businessperson also said he spent over RM1 million out of his own pocket on top of allocations from the government on the constituency.

However, Santhara’s ambitions could be a stumbling block for PBM to join BN.

Segamat was a BN stronghold from 1964 until 2018 - the year that Santhara won the seat on a PKR ticket.

Of those 54 years under BN, MIC held the seat for 36 years.

It is quite likely that MIC will want to contest and regain the seat again.

MIC has developed a reputation for blocking BN membership from other parties whose interests collide with theirs - especially those with an Indian support base.

MIC supporters

BN has a fighting chance at regaining Segamat based on voting patterns from the constituency’s two state seats during the Johor state election earlier this year.

During the state polls, BN won Buloh Kasap comfortably thanks to the opposition splitting votes and lost in Jementah by just 714 votes.

Meanwhile, on his reasons for joining PBM, Santhara cited the party’s multi-racial makeup as being a key pull factor.

He said, in comparison, as a non-bumiputera, he was only a non-voting member in Bersatu.

PBM supporters

However, he said he still respects Bersatu and has a cordial relationship with its president Muhyiddin Yassin.

Santhara was a PKR MP before leaving to join Bersatu as an associate member in 2020. - Mkini