PADANG SERAI: Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate Datuk C. Sivaraj today insisted that Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate should make way for him to have a straight fight with Perikatan Nasional (PN) for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat.
Sivaraj said he had been working in the constituency for the past three years as compared to the PH candidate Dr Mohamad Sofee Razak, who had just arrived in Padang Serai.
"I have been working here for the past three years whilst Sofee just arrived here a day before nomination (Nov 24).
"So, it is unfair to ask me to make way for Sofee just because BN is making way for PH candidate in the Tioman state seat election. That is not my problem," he said when met during his campaign trail in Kampung Padang here.
Sivaraj was responding to Sofee's wish for BN to make way for PH to have a straight fight with PN candidate Datuk Azman Nasrudin for the Dec 7 polls.
"The scenario here is different. I have been serving the people and the people here know me personally because of my name. Hence, Sofee should make way for me instead.
"If he agrees that Pakatan Harapan was able to form the federal government with the help of Barisan Nasional, it is wiser for him to make way for us, so that BN can have a straight fight with Perikatan Nasional.
"It is not fair you are asking me to make way. It is illogical. I will never agree to that," he said.
It was reported yesterday that Sofee expressed his wish for PH to reach an understanding with BN to make way for PH to win the seat as a gift to the 10th Prime Minister Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim.
Sofee was reported as hoping for BN component to make way for PH to have a straight fight with PN since he believes that the actual battle for the Padang Serai seat was between PH and PN.
Yesterday, it was also reported that PH candidate for the Tioman state seat in Pahang, Mohd Fadzli Mohd Ramly was ready to make way for BN candidate Datuk Seri Mohd Johari Hussain, should his party order him to do so.
Polling for the Tioman state seat was postponed following the death of PN candidate Md Yunus Ramli on GE15 polling day (Nov 19).
The Padang Serai parliamentary seat was previously held by Pakatan Harapan's M.Karupaiya, 69, who was nominated again by PH on Nov 5 to defend the seat.
However, he died on Nov 16, two days after being admitted to Kulim Hospital due to a heart attack while campaigning.
Following his passing, the Election Commission had postponed the Padang Serai polls to Dec 7.
Padang Serai has 133,767 eligible voters, with 81,230 of the voters in Lunas state constituency while the remaining 52,546 are voters in Merbau Pulas constituency.
Sivaraj is facing a six-cornered fight to wrest Padang Serai from PH, which had been winning the seat through PKR candidates since 2008.
He has locked horns with PH candidate Dr Mohamad Sofee Razak; Datuk Azman Nasrudin (Perikatan Nasional); Mohd Bakhri Hashim (Parti Warisan); Hamzah Abdul Rahman (Parti Pejuang Tanah Air), and Sreanandha Rao (Independent).
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