Kapar set to be Indian battleground despite increased Malay majority

KLANG: The Kapar parliamentary seat is likely to see a continued tussle between Indian leaders from several parties, despite the recent redelineation exercise that has made the Malay-majority area into a super-Malay majority area.
The seat which once held the highest number of constituents in the country with 146,317 voters, has now reduced its number to 125,231 voters following the Election Commission (EC)'s exercise.
It now also only contains three state seats namely Meru, Sementa and Selat Klang, compared to four during the 13th General Election (GE13). The Sungai Pinang state seat has since been absorbed into the Klang parliamentary seat and renamed Bandar Baru Klang.
At present, the parliament seat now boasts 88,528 (70.71%) Malays; 18,521 (14.79%) Chinese; 16,968 (13.55%) Indians and 1,214 (0.95%) of other races, a far cry from 2013 when the Malay voters made up only 51% of the 144,159 total voters at that time.
Former Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam is planning to contest both the parliament seat and the Meru state seat this time around.
"The constituents are aware of my track record and I intend repay the support they first gave me by continuing to serve them should I be given the mandate," the Parti Rakyat Malaysia (PRM) member told theSun when contacted today.
The former PKR member left the party last month, due to dissatisfaction with party members after he was earlier handed a two-year suspension, following a speech he made at the Sri Balathandayuthapani temple in Kapar on April, last year.
Having served a single term as MP, Manikavasagam was dropped as candidate for Kapar and contested in the Bukit Melawati state seat but lost.
PKR's incumbent MP G. Manivannan has also expressed his willingness to defend his seat despite the recent changes to his constituency's demographics.
"The irony is that despite one state seat and two voting districts removed from the constituency, Barisan Nasional has decided to retain MIC to contest the seat," he said.
Manivannan's response came after MIC confirmed that it will be fielding its candidate for the parliament seat on Tuesday.
When contacted, Kapar MIC division chairman Gopala Krishnan Reddy said the party will contest the seat, but is currently waiting for party president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam to officially announce the candidate.
Sources within the Indian-based party confirmed that Wanita MIC chief Datuk Mohana Muniandy is expected to be fielded as the candidate for Kapar.