KUALA LUMPUR – Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Padang Serai candidate Datuk C. Sivarraajh has apparently withdrawn from the race for the federal seat in Kedah, just five days before polling day on December 7.
Various news portals said he had stopped campaigning, quoting unnamed sources that BN had instructed the pull out following its move to join forces with Pakatan Harapan (PH) to form a unity government at the federal level.
By doing so, Sivarraajh will make way for PH candidate Mohamad Sofee Razak.
Besides several media reports quoting sources confirming the matter, an invitation to a joint ceramah by PH and BN leaders in the constituency tonight has also been circulated, plunging Sivarraajh’s candidacy into further uncertainty.
On Wednesday, Sivarraajh said that he has yet to receive any instructions from the coalition’s top leadership to give way to other contenders for the parliamentary seat.
He also said that PH should be the one to concede to him, as he is more familiar with voters in the area after doing groundwork for three years now.
Meanwhile, Sofee said that PH would need to work hard to retain the Padang Serai seat if BN refuses to compromise and give way to PH, especially if PH wishes to preserve the legacy of the late M. Karupaiya, the seat’s then incumbent.
Warisan had also previously announced its decision to help PH’s campaign, with Kedah Warisan chairman Datuk Fadhil Hanafi saying that a PH victory in Padang Serai will be a nice welcome for the national administration.
Earlier on, Amanah announced that its candidate contesting on the PH ticket in the Tioman state seat in Pahang would make way for the BN candidate to increase the latter’s chances of winning.
This came after PH and BN unanimously opted to come together to establish the Pahang government after no party commanded a simple majority in the state polls held concurrently with the 15th general election (GE15).
The Tioman and Padang Serai contests in GE15 were postponed following the deaths of candidates in each seat. Polling for Tioman will also be held on December 7. – The Vibes, December 2, 2022
