Updated at 2.55pm
SUNGAI PETANI, 20 March 2009: Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) has picked entrepreneur S Manikumar as its candidate for the Bukit Selambau state by-election in Kedah on 7 April.
PKR de facto leader Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim made the announcement in Taman Permai, Sungai Lalang, here today.
Manikumar, 35, an ordinary member of the party for two years, is a tourism management graduate from Universiti Utara Malaysia (UUM). He also holds an MBA from the same university.
The PKR Merbok Division member, who hails from Taman Ria Jaya here, has been a freelance lecturer at UUM and speaks fluent Malay, English, Tamil and Spanish.
Anwar, at his news conference here, said Manikumar was selected with the blessings of former Bukit Selambau assemblyman V Arumugam and after taking into account the views of the people.
Meanwhile, a group of PKR supporters staged a protest at the announcement venue over the selection of Manikumar as the candidate.
They claimed that Manikumar was not well-known as he was an ordinary member and not active in the party. They wanted a more experienced person as the candidate.
It is learnt that several PKR operations rooms in the constituency would be closed as a mark of protest.
Manikumar, when met after the announcement, declined to comment on the protest.
The Barisan Nasional (BN) has named Kedah MIC deputy chairperson Datuk S Ganesan as its candidate for the by-election.
Nomination is 29 March. The seat fell vacant after Arumugam resigned as the state assemblyman in February. — Bernama
