“It’s been home since. It is a no-brainer that Sofee, a newbie and a nice guy, should give way to me, for I have laid the groundwork,” said Sivaraj.
His rival Sofee, a lawyer, was in the spotlight a day before nomination on Nov 24 after PKR grassroots leaders boycotted his candidacy for he was an outsider. He was eventually nominated despite protests.
Yesterday, Sofee had asked Sivaraj to step aside as Barisan Nasional were supporting Pakatan Harapan in forming a unity government.
A clash between the two candidates could split votes and allow the Perikatan Nasional candidate to win, Sofee said.
However Sivaraj felt he stood out as the best candidate against PN. He said he had laid the groundwork for the election and had spent his own money to help the electorate.
He said even the other candidate Azman Nasruddin of PN, was practically an outsider in Padang Serai as Azman had been campaigning for the Kulim-Bandar Baharu parliamentary seat over the past year or so.
Azman is Lunas assemblyman and a Kedah state executive councillor. He movied from PKR to PN two years ago. Lunas and Merbau Pulas are the two state seats within the Padang Serai constituency.
Sivaraj said if he is elected as MP, his key focus would be bringing flood mitigation measures as Padang Serai was prone to floods in the town and rural areas.
“PH has been here for the past 15 years, this basic issue they can’t fix. The drains are bad and federal funds can help fix key areas,” he said.
He said key industries in the area should allot 30% of places in their workforce to local residents. He also hopes to set up a giant WiFi network throughout the constituency to help the people get on the internet.
However, Sivaraj said voters in Padang Serai had been polarised. A significant number of Indian voters appeared to have warmed up to BN, the Chinese voters were firmly in PH territory.
“As for the Malay voters, I don’t think they can be swayed by extremist, racial extremism. I think by now, Malay voters know that unity among all races is a strength.
Three other candidates are contesting the election: Hamzah Abdul Rahman (Pejuang), Bakri Hashim (Warisan) and K Sreanandha Rao, an independent.