PETALING JAYA: There were no arrangements made stipulating 2018 would be the last term he would be fielded for the Klang parliamentary seat, incumbent MP Charles Santiago (pix) said.
According to him, DAP’s remark was merely to counter public brickbats against DAP’s decision to overlook him as a candidate.
“Let me make this clear: DAP never informed me that 2018 would be the last time I would be fielded as a candidate.
“There were no such arrangements and no indication about calls to replace me (or who made these calls) in 2013 or 2018, as suggested by Selangor DAP Chairman, Gobind Singh Deo.
“These narratives are an afterthought to mitigate the huge backlash that we are seeing, even before the official candidate list was announced,“ Charles said in a statement today.
Santiago said it pained him to write this statement rebutting his DAP leaders, as he still wanted to ensure Pakatan Harapan (PH) won the 15th general election and that DAP did well at the polls.
“It’s just too painful for me to write this because I am determined to ensure a Pakatan Harapan victory in this general election and would like to see the DAP do well at the polls.
“But this is about my integrity and issues need to be clarified. I will not be commenting about my candidacy anymore and I again appeal to the people of Klang to vote in a Pakatan Harapan government,“ he added.
On Wednesday, Loke announced that Kota Kemuning assemblyman V.Ganabatirau will stand in Klang, a parliamentary seat Santiago had held for three terms.
In defending the decision, Gobind, who is also national DAP deputy chairman, said Santiago was fully aware that there had been requests for him to be replaced since 2013.