Decades-long rivalry takes new form in MIC's last bastion

 

in Tapah, Perak, but all eyes are on two candidates - BN's M Saravanan (the incumbent) and Pakatan Harapan's K Saraswathy.

Kuala Lumpur-born Saravanan (above, left), 54, is a three-time incumbent and MIC deputy president. He was long seen as former MIC president, the late S Samy Vellu's protégé and has rapidly risen in the party’s political ladder.

He is a hot favourite to retain the Tapah seat for BN and secure a fourth term.

As an overview, BN has never lost Tapah since the seat was created in 1986. The seat has always been reserved for MIC's top brass in the past - the late MG Pandithan, K Kumaran, S Veerasingam and now Saravanan.

Saraswathy, also 54, is a lawyer and PKR vice president. She is known in political circles as a former loyal disciple of Samy Vellu's greatest rival and ex-MIC deputy president, the late S Subramaniam.

Between the 1970s and 2006, Subramaniam and Samy Vellu were engaged in an intense rivalry to become the main voice of the Indian Malaysian community.

And it seems, despite the duo’s deaths, their rivalry still lives on.

For Saraswathy, this election is her maiden outing and she expects herself to make history by handing BN their first defeat in Tapah.

Infrastructure woes

"A lot of observers see Tapah as a BN stronghold because their candidate has never lost.

"I've been here for a month and it is clear to me that 'money politics' is no longer working here. Voters here want a change," Saraswathy told Malaysiakini.

M Saravanan during a walkabout in Tapah

Saravanan retained his seat in 2018 with a slim majority of just 614 votes, while his challenger from Harapan came in a close second.

With that, Saravanan became MIC's only MP from 2018 to 2022.

Saraswathy said Tapah voters had long felt neglected and that would work in her favour.

"The hospital is dilapidated. Public transport is a problem. There are not enough jobs too.

"At night, Tapah becomes a 'ghost town' because there are no activities for the youths," she said.

Focus on education

Meanwhile, Saravanan told Malaysiakini that in his three terms as Tapah MP, many issues have been resolved including infrastructure, street lighting and land ownership involving houses of worship.

"Have you heard of houses of worship being demolished in Tapah over the past 15 years (due to land ownership disputes)? There are none because they are all resolved.

"We have been working on developing human resources. We educate people, sending them to kindergartens and higher education institutions. We provide skills training for those who need it.

"We have built a sports complex for the youths and community halls for villages, including for the Orang Asli community.

"My record speaks for itself," said Saravanan, who is currently the human resource minister.

Don’t compare Tapah with KL

He chided his opponents for comparing the level of development in Tapah with Kuala Lumpur, stressing the needs of his constituents are different.

"I can't build a (Petronas) Twin Tower in Tapah. This is a rural area. Development here means developing human resources," he stated.

The four other candidates vying for Tapah are Perikatan Nasional's Muhammad Yadzan Mohammad, independent M Kathiravan, Pejuang's Mior Nor Haidir Suhaimi and Warisan's Mohamed Akbar Sherrif Ali Yasin.

Tapah's constituents are primarily Malays (47 percent), followed by Chinese (26 percent) and Indians (15 percent). - Mkini