Subramaniam staying put in Segamat

GE14 | MIC president Dr S Subramanim will defend his Segamat parliamentary seat in the upcoming 14th general election.

Ending months of speculation, Subramaniam, who is also the Health Minister, said there was no reason for him to move away as his chances look good and positive given the good work the government had done there for the past five years.

Dubbed as a hot seat for both BN and Pakatan Harapan to woo the over 47,000 voters in the constituency, Subramaniam said many people had said it would be a difficult task for him to defend the seat he first won in 2004 due to voter demographics there – with the Chinese community comprising 46 percent, Malay voters 44 percent and Indians 10 percent.

"Although there has been so much hype about Johor being Harapan's frontline state in the general election, and many people thought the party president will go to safer seat, I am not going to do so.

"Why should I and how can I go away from the place that I have served all this while.

“Secondly, I don't want to run away from challenges. This is not good. So I have decided to stay and face the challenge," he told Bernama in an interview recently.

In the 2013 general election, the 64-year-old Subramaniam won the Segamat seat after defeating PKR's Dr Chua Jui Meng with a 1,217-vote majority.

It has been reported previously that Subramaniam would ditch the Segamat seat and vie for the Hulu Selangor instead, which is considered a safer seat and currently held by P Kamalanathan (photo).

Denying the report, Subramaniam said: "The challenge can be easy or difficult. This is part of the political process and my decision is firm. I am quite sure it is not going to be easy but I have decided to fight it out. Segamat is my battleground.

"My hope to win is based on what I have done for the constituency and public acceptance towards me is positive.

"I am confident that I will be able to pull through the election well," he said, adding that he visited the constituency two to three days in a week despite his busy schedule.

Based on his track record serving the Segamat people, Subramaniam, who was instrumental in drawing up the national blueprint for the Malaysian Indian community initiated by Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak, was confident of retaining the seat.

- Bernama