KUALA LUMPUR – Datuk Seri Edmund Santhara, who recently defected from Bersatu to Parti Bangsa Malaysia (PBM), plans to defend the Segamat parliamentary seat, insisting that he wants to continue his numerous people-oriented initiatives for another term.
Speaking to The Vibes, Santhara said he also received strong support from the numerous communities in Segamat for him to represent them again.
He said he is proud to have helped to build several mosques there, while also working closely with the local Christian community and addressing the concerns of the Orang Asli community.
“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,'' he said.
Santhara also said he is the only parliamentarian to have engaged a third party to audit his parliamentary expense accounts.
He added that he even spent over RM1 million out of his own pocket for his constituency, apart from the allocation given by the government.
This includes providing boats and vehicles to government agencies to help with food relief efforts, said Santhara.
Santhara, previously a PKR lawmaker, joined Bersatu following the Sheraton Move in February 2020 and was subsequently appointed as chief of the party’s associate members’ wing.
What makes his desire to recontest Segamat interesting is that he won the seat on a Pakatan Harapan (PH) ticket when he was a member of PKR in the general election of May 2018.
PH and PKR would be keen on regaining the seat, especially as they broke Barisan Nasional’s (BN) hold over it for the first time since the 1970s only to lose it when Santhara jumped ship.
He leapt to PBM at the same time as Kuala Langat MP Datuk Xavier Jayakumar.
Xavier was also a former PKR lawmaker before he turned independent and subsequently threw his support behind the Perikatan Nasional (PN) government that came to power due to the Sheraton Move.
Adding to the intrigue is the fact that PBM has requested to be a component party under BN.
Santhara is now the deputy minister of tourism, arts, and culture in the present BN-led administration. He had earlier been appointed as deputy federal territories minister by the former PN government.
Why join PBM?
On his decision to join PBM, Santhara said that the fledgling party’s constitution mirrors the federal constitution.
The party recognises and respects the special position of the Malays, Islam, and the national language, apart from being a multi-racial entity, he said.
He also explained that its multi-racial makeup is among the key factors that attracted him to quit Bersatu, a Malay-based party, and join PBM.
“If you look at the party’s constitution, there is a pull factor within PBM, and also a push factor from where I was before (Bersatu), where I was a non-voting member.
“But I understand in that respect that they (Bersatu) were founded as a substitute for the Malay community,'” he said, referring to Bersatu’s conception in 2016 as an alternative to Umno.
It was reported that Santhara had left Bersatu in July of this year.
Bersatu secretary-general Datuk Seri Hamzah Zainudin had then brushed aside Santhara’s move, saying that he may be fighting for his own interests
“MPs sometimes only think of their own individual interests, whereas members are the ones who determine the party’s crusade and ideology,” Hamzah had said.
Santhara’s entry into PBM alongside Xavier was announced by party president Datuk Seri Zuraida Kamaruddin on October 1.
Despite his departure from Bersatu, Santhara clarified that he has a cordial relationship with Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin, a former prime minister, and both respect each other’s political views.
However, several news portals cited sources as saying that the Segamat MP did not see any future for non-Bumiputera lawmakers in the party led by Muhyiddin.
GE15 won’t disrupt Deepavali celebrations
Meanwhile, Santhara said the Indian community will not be disturbed by the coming general election as the polling period will likely take place well after the festive period.
This comes after several lawmakers from the opposition argued that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Ismail Sabri Yaakob was insensitive for having Parliament dissolved and possibly holding the elections near Deepavali, which falls on October 24.
“If you look at the constitution, the election cannot be close to Deepavali because the Election Commission (EC) is meeting on the 20th (October), and if I’m not mistaken, there’s a very clear guideline on how many days after the meeting that election nominations must be held.
“So that (nomination day) itself will be in November, and after that, there’ll be a minimum of nine days (for polling). I’m sure that they usually give about 14 days,” he said.
“The elections are going to be in mid-November, (or) the third week of November. So the question of whether the elections will be held near Deepavali does not arise.
“Clearly, those arguing this angle don’t know how to read the constitution and the powers under the EC,” he said. – The Vibes, October 16, 2022
