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Penang DAP is not aware if Karpal Singh had made any recommendation on who would take over his Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat if anything should happen to him, said state DAP chief Chow Kon Yew.
Chow said there was still no name list of potential candidates for the seat that had been held by Karpal since the 2004 general election.
He was also unable to confirm reports that Karpal's third son, Ramkarpal, was now favourite for the seat.
"I am not aware of this," Chow said.
Malaysiakini yesterday quoted New Zealand author Tim Donoghue, who wrote the biography "Karpal Singh: Tiger of Jelutong", as saying that Karpal had indicated that he wanted Ramkarpal to succeed him.
Donoghue said Karpal indicated his succession plan to him when the veteran lawyer and politician was facing his sedition case for questioning the removal of Datuk Seri Mohammad Nizar Jamaluddin as Perak Menteri Besar by the Sultan of Perak in February 2009.
Before Karpal's sudden death last Thursday, he was already facing the possibility of losing his seat after he was found guilty of sedition last month.
Chow said they would not comment on the matter until the Election Commission (EC) announced the dates for the by-election nomination and polling days.
"We have not discussed (about candidates). That is for the party's central executive committee (CEC) ...if they ask for recommendation, the state will give it.
"We have instructed a state DAP emergency meeting to be held this Thursday once the EC announces the dates.
"In the meantime, we have directed our people to get things ready like the statistics and logistics for the entire parliamentary constituency," he said.
Karpal died in a car accident last Thursday on the North-South Expressway near Kampar, Perak while coming home to Penang.
His death has left the seat, a DAP stronghold, vacant. In the May general-election last year, Karpal won with a 41,778 majority against MCA's Teh Beng Yeam.
According to Barisan Nasional insiders, some in the coalition feel the party should not contest in the by-election when chances of winning the seat are very slim. – April 22, 2014. |
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