KULIM: Barisan Nasional candidate for Padang Serai C Sivaraj will be considered for a place in the Pakatan Harapan-led unity government for his sacrifice in giving way to Sofee Razak from PH.
However, PH secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail insisted that it was not a condition for his withdrawal from the election to be held on Wednesday.
“I would like to say that Sivaraj decided to withdraw unconditionally,” he told reporters after a PH ceramah here.
“But I am confident that as a youth leader, of course, brother Sivaraj is qualified to get a place (in the government).”
Sivaraj, who is also MIC vice-president, suspended his campaign on Friday to back Sofee. Earlier, Warisan also pulled out to back PH.
Saifuddin said that he was involved in the negotiations with MIC president SA Vigneswaran and BN chairman Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to get the BN candidate to withdraw unconditionally.
This move, he added, was to get BN to reciprocate PH’s decision to withdraw from the Tioman state election and make way for BN – a decision which he said was made in the spirit of the unity government led by the two coalitions.
While he did not indicate what position Sivaraj will get in Prime Minister Anwar Ibrahim’s government, it was widely speculated that he would be made a senator.
Malaysiakini reported two days ago that Sivaraj was allegedly offered the post of a senator in return for withdrawing from the Padang Serai contest.
Separately, the home minister also told Padang Serai voters to elect Sofee on Dec 7 as he would be able to get federal funds to develop Padang Serai, and for the latter to help his constituents without identity cards (ICs) to obtain them.
Saifuddin, who lost in the general election last month, was made a senator before being appointed as the home minister.
With the withdrawals, Sofee is contesting against Perikatan Nasional’s Azman Nasrudin and independent candidate Ananda AK. - FMT
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