Ijok by-election, 2007
Encyclopedia
The 2007 Ijok by-election was held on 28 April 2007. The seat of Ijok
in the State Legislative Assembly of Selangor
, Malaysia, fell vacant after the death of the incumbent, Datuk
K. Sivalingam
, on 4 April 2007 from a heart attack
. Sivalingam was a member of the state executive council as well as the deputy chairman of the Selangor
state Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional
(BN) coalition. The by-election
was won by the BN candidate K. Parthiban
, with a 1,850-vote majority over the opposition candidate, Tan Sri
Khalid Ibrahim.
lies in parliamentary seat P.096 Kuala Selangor
. As of the 2004 General Elections
, Ijok was a Malay-majority seat (50.6%), followed by Indians (28.3%), Chinese
(20.9%) and others (0.2%). In the 2004 election, the late Datuk
K. Sivalingam
of the MIC (a component party of the BN
coalition), garnered 5,213 votes, defeating Abdul Rahman Moharam of the People's Justice Party
(PKR) (3,564 votes) and independent candidate Mohamed Shariff Nagoorkani (313 votes).
daily The Star
had quoted MIC president Datuk Seri
S. Samy Vellu that 23 MIC members have expressed interest to contest the by-election. However, the two leading favorites were said to be MIC central working committee members S. Murugesan
and T. Mohan. Other names bandied by the media included teacher and MIC Kuala Selangor
division chief P. Thirumoorthy, Shah Alam
division vice-chairman S. Muruga Vellu and Kota Raja deputy chief R. Subramaniam
. However, on April 16, 2007, the BN picked a relative unknown, former teacher
K. Parthiban
as its by-election candidate. The selection prompted the MIC Kuala Selangor
division chief P. Thirumoorthy, a relative party heavyweight
on the candidate shortlist to quit the MIC, only to backtrack and declare his support for Parthiban two days later.
Meanwhile, the two major opposition parties, the Pan Malaysian Islamic Party (PAS) and the Democratic Action Party
(DAP), in a rare display of opposition solidarity, both threw their support behind the PKR for the by-election. PKR's campaign will be led by party adviser and former Deputy Prime Minister
Datuk Seri
Anwar Ibrahim
. The leading potential candidate was current party treasurer and former Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd
and Permodalan Nasional Bhd
CEO Tan Sri
Khalid Ibrahim, although some PKR members lobbied for an Indian candidate.
Eventually, the party announced that it had shortlisted Khalid and Indian bureau head Datuk
K.S. Nallakarupan for its ticket. Later on 17 April 2007, it was announced that, as expected, Khalid would be the PKR nominee. Nallakarupan said that although PKR President Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had offered him the nomination, he declined in favour of Khalid. Azizah denied allegations of racial bias in the decision, stating: "We picked the candidate not on racial lines but on the basis of the most appropriate choice to be the people's voice in the state assembly".
-based businessman K. Loganathan announced he would contest as an independent candidate in the by-election, citing the lack of development
and progress under the previous assemblyman and his desire to serve the rural
folk of Ijok
as reasons.
By April 18, 2007, rumors were rife that a plethora of independent candidates will be contesting the by-election. Independent online
news
daily Malaysiakini
reported as many as four independent candidates, including Loganathan, have expressed interest to contest.
On 19 April 2007, the candidates from BN and PKR filed their nominations at the Batang Berjuntai community hall, which was converted into a temporary nomination centre. Neither Loganathan nor any of the purported independent candidates appeared, and thus after the nomination period ended at 11.00 am, returning officer Haris Kasim announced that the by-election would be a straight fight between K. Parthiban
of the MIC and Khalid of PKR.
The nomination was marred by a clash between BN and PKR supporters when their processions to the nomination centre inadvertently met. Eventually, the police intervened and separated the two groups. PKR later accused that Khairy Jamaluddin
, Deputy BN Youth Chief, had been involved in provoking the fight, and also that BN Youth Chief and Education Minister Hishamuddin Hussein had thrown bottles at PKR supporters. However, no valid reports was actually made.
The Prime Minister had later warned both PKR and BN supporters of their behaviour during the by-election of Ijok.
, won with a majority of 1,850 votes. Parthiban secured 5,884 votes while Keadilan's Abdul Khalid Ibrahim got 4,034 votes. A total of 10,052 voters, or 81.9%, of the 12,272 eligible voters had cast their ballots, a record turnout for the constituency. In the 2004 General Elections, BN defeated PKR by 1,649 votes in the constituency.
Ijok
Ijok is an estate town in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. It is located along Federal route . Located about 60 km from Petaling Jaya, Ijok is a popular transit town for travellers heading towards Kuala Selangor and Teluk Intan via the Selangor north coastal road...
in the State Legislative Assembly of Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
, Malaysia, fell vacant after the death of the incumbent, Datuk
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
K. Sivalingam
K. Sivalingam
Datuk K. Sivalingam was a Malaysian politician of Indian descent. He was aligned to the Malaysian Indian Congress , a major component party of the incumbent Barisan Nasional coalition, and was the Selangor state MIC deputy chairman.Prior to entering politics, Sivalingam was involved in journalism...
, on 4 April 2007 from a heart attack
Myocardial infarction
Myocardial infarction or acute myocardial infarction , commonly known as a heart attack, results from the interruption of blood supply to a part of the heart, causing heart cells to die...
. Sivalingam was a member of the state executive council as well as the deputy chairman of the Selangor
Selangor
Selangor also known by its Arabic honorific, Darul Ehsan, or "Abode of Sincerity") is one of the 13 states of Malaysia. It is on the west coast of Peninsular Malaysia and is bordered by Perak to the north, Pahang to the east, Negeri Sembilan to the south and the Strait of Malacca to the west...
state Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
(BN) coalition. The by-election
By-election
A by-election is an election held to fill a political office that has become vacant between regularly scheduled elections....
was won by the BN candidate K. Parthiban
K. Parthiban
K. Parthiban is a Malaysian politician of Indian descent. He is a member of the Malaysian Indian Congress , a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and has been the party's Tanjung Karang division secretary since 2002...
, with a 1,850-vote majority over the opposition candidate, Tan Sri
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
Khalid Ibrahim.
Background
State assembly seat N.08 IjokIjok
Ijok is an estate town in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. It is located along Federal route . Located about 60 km from Petaling Jaya, Ijok is a popular transit town for travellers heading towards Kuala Selangor and Teluk Intan via the Selangor north coastal road...
lies in parliamentary seat P.096 Kuala Selangor
Kuala Selangor
Kuala Selangor is a town located in Selangor, Malaysia, and is capital of an administrative district of the same name.The town caters largely to tourists coming this way en route to Kelip-Kelip at Kampung Kuantan or local travellers on a trail of seafood binging. Kuala Selangor town is not...
. As of the 2004 General Elections
Malaysian general election, 2004
General elections were held in Malaysia on March 21, 2004. The incumbent National Front government of Prime Minister Dato' Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi was re-elected with an increased majority.-Election results:...
, Ijok was a Malay-majority seat (50.6%), followed by Indians (28.3%), Chinese
Malaysian Chinese
Malaysian Chinese is a Malaysian of Chinese origin. Most are descendants of Chinese who arrived between the fifteenth and the mid-twentieth centuries. Within Malaysia, they are usually simply referred to as "Chinese" in all languages. The term Chinese Malaysian is also sometimes used to refer to...
(20.9%) and others (0.2%). In the 2004 election, the late Datuk
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
K. Sivalingam
K. Sivalingam
Datuk K. Sivalingam was a Malaysian politician of Indian descent. He was aligned to the Malaysian Indian Congress , a major component party of the incumbent Barisan Nasional coalition, and was the Selangor state MIC deputy chairman.Prior to entering politics, Sivalingam was involved in journalism...
of the MIC (a component party of the BN
Barisan Nasional
Barisan Nasional is a major political coalition in Malaysia, formed in 1973 as the successor to the Alliance . Along with its predecessor, it has been Malaysia's federal ruling political force since independence...
coalition), garnered 5,213 votes, defeating Abdul Rahman Moharam of the People's Justice Party
Parti Keadilan Rakyat
The People's Justice Party , often known simply as KeADILan) is a centrist political party in Malaysia formed in 2003 by a merger of the National Justice Party and the older Malaysian People's Party...
(PKR) (3,564 votes) and independent candidate Mohamed Shariff Nagoorkani (313 votes).
Barisan Nasional
There was no shortage of potential candidates from the BN coalition; the EnglishEnglish language
English is a West Germanic language that arose in the Anglo-Saxon kingdoms of England and spread into what was to become south-east Scotland under the influence of the Anglian medieval kingdom of Northumbria...
daily The Star
The Star (Malaysia)
The Star is an English-language, tabloid-format newspaper in Malaysia. It is the largest in terms of circulation in Malaysia, according to the . It has a daily circulation of between 290,000 to 300,000...
had quoted MIC president Datuk Seri
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
S. Samy Vellu that 23 MIC members have expressed interest to contest the by-election. However, the two leading favorites were said to be MIC central working committee members S. Murugesan
S. Murugesan
S. Murugesan is an Indian politician and former Member of Parliament elected from Tamil Nadu. He was elected to the Lok Sabha from Tenkasi constituency as an Anna Dravida Munnetra Kazhagam candidate in 1998, and 1999 elections.- References :...
and T. Mohan. Other names bandied by the media included teacher and MIC Kuala Selangor
Kuala Selangor
Kuala Selangor is a town located in Selangor, Malaysia, and is capital of an administrative district of the same name.The town caters largely to tourists coming this way en route to Kelip-Kelip at Kampung Kuantan or local travellers on a trail of seafood binging. Kuala Selangor town is not...
division chief P. Thirumoorthy, Shah Alam
Shah Alam
Shah Alam is the state capital of Selangor, Malaysia situated within the Petaling District and a small portion of the neighboring Klang District. It is located about west of the country's capital, Kuala Lumpur. Shah Alam replaced Kuala Lumpur as the capital city of the state of Selangor in 1978...
division vice-chairman S. Muruga Vellu and Kota Raja deputy chief R. Subramaniam
R. Subramaniam
R Subramaniam was the Managing Director of Subhiksha, one of the largest retail chains in India. He studied engineering in IIT Madras and then obtained a Post Graduate Degree in Management from IIM Ahmedabad in 1989. He then joined Citi Corp in 1989 and left the company soon. He then worked for...
. However, on April 16, 2007, the BN picked a relative unknown, former teacher
Teacher
A teacher or schoolteacher is a person who provides education for pupils and students . The role of teacher is often formal and ongoing, carried out at a school or other place of formal education. In many countries, a person who wishes to become a teacher must first obtain specified professional...
K. Parthiban
K. Parthiban
K. Parthiban is a Malaysian politician of Indian descent. He is a member of the Malaysian Indian Congress , a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and has been the party's Tanjung Karang division secretary since 2002...
as its by-election candidate. The selection prompted the MIC Kuala Selangor
Kuala Selangor
Kuala Selangor is a town located in Selangor, Malaysia, and is capital of an administrative district of the same name.The town caters largely to tourists coming this way en route to Kelip-Kelip at Kampung Kuantan or local travellers on a trail of seafood binging. Kuala Selangor town is not...
division chief P. Thirumoorthy, a relative party heavyweight
Heavyweight
Heavyweight is a division, or weight class, in boxing. Fighters who weigh over 200 pounds are considered heavyweights by the major professional boxing organizations: the International Boxing Federation, the World Boxing Association, the World Boxing Council, and the World Boxing...
on the candidate shortlist to quit the MIC, only to backtrack and declare his support for Parthiban two days later.
Opposition
Democratic Action Party
The Democratic Action Party, or DAP is a secular, multi-racial, social democratic Malaysian political party.The DAP is one of the three major opposition parties in Malaysia, along with the PKR and PAS, that are seen as electable alternatives to the Barisan Nasional coalition of parties...
(DAP), in a rare display of opposition solidarity, both threw their support behind the PKR for the by-election. PKR's campaign will be led by party adviser and former Deputy Prime Minister
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia
Deputy Prime Minister of Malaysia is the second highest political office in Malaysia. There has been ten deputy prime ministers since the office was created in 1957. Although there has always been a Deputy Prime Minister since independence, there is nothing preventing a Prime Minister from not...
Datuk Seri
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar Ibrahim
Anwar bin Ibrahim is a Malaysian politician who served as Malaysian Deputy Prime Minister from 1993 to 1998. Early in his career, Anwar was a close ally of Prime Minister Mahathir bin Mohamad but subsequently emerged as the most prominent critic of Mahathir's government.In 1999, he was sentenced...
. The leading potential candidate was current party treasurer and former Kumpulan Guthrie Bhd
Guthrie (Malaysia)
Guthrie Group Limited was a Malaysian company that primarily dealt with plantations. It merged with three other plantation groups to form the world's largest plantation company with the name of Sime Darby Berhad.- History :...
and Permodalan Nasional Bhd
Pemodalan Nasional Berhad
Permodalan Nasional Berhad is Malaysia's biggest fund management company. The main headquarters is located at Jalan Tun Razak, Kuala Lumpur near Tabung Haji building. PNB is the parent company for Amanah Saham Nasional Berhad which operates a number of unit trust schemes, and is a wholly owned...
CEO Tan Sri
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
Khalid Ibrahim, although some PKR members lobbied for an Indian candidate.
Eventually, the party announced that it had shortlisted Khalid and Indian bureau head Datuk
Malay titles
The Malay language has a complex system of titles and honorifics, which are still used extensively in Malaysia and Brunei. Singapore, whose Malay royalty was abolished by the British colonial government in 1891, has adopted civic titles for its leaders....
K.S. Nallakarupan for its ticket. Later on 17 April 2007, it was announced that, as expected, Khalid would be the PKR nominee. Nallakarupan said that although PKR President Wan Azizah Wan Ismail had offered him the nomination, he declined in favour of Khalid. Azizah denied allegations of racial bias in the decision, stating: "We picked the candidate not on racial lines but on the basis of the most appropriate choice to be the people's voice in the state assembly".
Independent candidates
On April 15, 2007, KlangKlang
Klang , formerly known as Kelang, is the royal city and former capital of the state of Selangor, Malaysia. It is located within the Klang District in Klang Valley. It is located about 32 km to the west of Kuala Lumpur and 6 km east of Port Klang...
-based businessman K. Loganathan announced he would contest as an independent candidate in the by-election, citing the lack of development
Rural development
Rural development in general denotes economic development and community development actions and initiatives taken to improve the standard of living in non-urban neighbourhoods, remote villages and the countryside...
and progress under the previous assemblyman and his desire to serve the rural
Rural
Rural areas or the country or countryside are areas that are not urbanized, though when large areas are described, country towns and smaller cities will be included. They have a low population density, and typically much of the land is devoted to agriculture...
folk of Ijok
Ijok
Ijok is an estate town in the state of Selangor, Malaysia. It is located along Federal route . Located about 60 km from Petaling Jaya, Ijok is a popular transit town for travellers heading towards Kuala Selangor and Teluk Intan via the Selangor north coastal road...
as reasons.
By April 18, 2007, rumors were rife that a plethora of independent candidates will be contesting the by-election. Independent online
ONLINE
ONLINE is a magazine for information systems first published in 1977. The publisher Online, Inc. was founded the year before. In May 2002, Information Today, Inc. acquired the assets of Online Inc....
news
News
News is the communication of selected information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
daily Malaysiakini
Malaysiakini
Malaysiakini is a political news website published in English, Malay, Chinese and Tamil. Since its launch on November 20, 1999, it has been widely considered to be one of the leading non-government owned paid-news agencies in Malaysia. Compete.com estimates that Malaysiakini now attracts over...
reported as many as four independent candidates, including Loganathan, have expressed interest to contest.
Nominations
K. Parthiban
K. Parthiban is a Malaysian politician of Indian descent. He is a member of the Malaysian Indian Congress , a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and has been the party's Tanjung Karang division secretary since 2002...
of the MIC and Khalid of PKR.
The nomination was marred by a clash between BN and PKR supporters when their processions to the nomination centre inadvertently met. Eventually, the police intervened and separated the two groups. PKR later accused that Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin
Khairy Jamaluddin Abu Bakar is a Malaysian politician, and the son-in-law of former Malaysian Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. Since 2008, Khairy has been a member of the Malaysian Parliament representing the constituency of Rembau...
, Deputy BN Youth Chief, had been involved in provoking the fight, and also that BN Youth Chief and Education Minister Hishamuddin Hussein had thrown bottles at PKR supporters. However, no valid reports was actually made.
The Prime Minister had later warned both PKR and BN supporters of their behaviour during the by-election of Ijok.
By-election results
The BN candidate, K. ParthibanK. Parthiban
K. Parthiban is a Malaysian politician of Indian descent. He is a member of the Malaysian Indian Congress , a component party of the ruling Barisan Nasional coalition, and has been the party's Tanjung Karang division secretary since 2002...
, won with a majority of 1,850 votes. Parthiban secured 5,884 votes while Keadilan's Abdul Khalid Ibrahim got 4,034 votes. A total of 10,052 voters, or 81.9%, of the 12,272 eligible voters had cast their ballots, a record turnout for the constituency. In the 2004 General Elections, BN defeated PKR by 1,649 votes in the constituency.
External links
- http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/66177