Nedunchelian still PKR member, says Kapar MP
Nedunchelian says he officially resigned from PKR in January but S Manikavsagam says he is still listed as a member.
(Free Malaysia Today) – The first Barisan Rakyat Independent Candidate (BRIC) to announce his candidacy ahead of the 13th general election, Dr Nedunchelian Vengu, has discovered that he is still a PKR member despite officially resigning from the party in January.
Nedunchelian, 43, a dentist, announced last Friday that he will run in Kapar for the next general election. But incumbent, S Manikavasagam, queried Nedunchelian’s standing under an independent ticket while he holds a PKR membership.
“I checked the membership database and he is still a life member,” Manikavasagam told FMT. “He joined in 2009 and his membership number is B18002745.”
“Nedunchelian was also appointed by the Selangor government as an Indian community leader in Sungai Pinang and I personally endorsed his application. So I was shocked to hear of his annoucement as an independent when he is still holding a Pakatan Rakyat-appointed post.”
Manikavasagam added that he had raised the matter with PKR vice-president, N Surendran, and hinted that the party could take disciplinary action against Nedunchelian.
He, however, said that he bore no malice towards Nedunchelian’s bid for the Kapar seat nor was this a personal attack against him.
“Nedunchelian is a good, close friend of mine and I wish him all the best,” he said. “Besides, I don’t even know if I will be re-contesting the seat. It all depends on the party.”
“The seat doesn’t belong to me and anyone has a right to run for it whether they are from PKR or not. I’m just concerned over the conflict between Nedunchelian’s candidacy as an independent and his PKR membership.”
‘I resigned in January’
Meanwhile, Nedunchelian confirmed that he resigned from PKR on Jan 3 but added that he has still not received any official acknowledgement of his resignation from the party.
“As far as I am concerned, I resigned months before announcing my candidacy. Perhaps PKR hasn’t updated its database yet,” he said.
Nedunchelian had openly disclosed his post as Indian community leader in Sungai Pinang during a press conference last week, but told FMT that he is considering stepping down from that post, too.
