Sangeet Kaur Deo, daughter of the late formidable Malaysian lawmaker and lawyer Karpal Singh, is slated to make her debut in the Puchong parliamentary seat currently held by her older brother Gobind Singh.
Quoting unnamed sources, Free Malaysia Today yesterday reported that Gobind is expected to leave Puchong for the Kulai parliamentary seat in Johor, which is now held by state Democratic Action Party (DAP) vice-chairperson Teo Nie Ching.
“Sangeet is the preferred candidate for the seat as the party wants to send more women representatives to the Dewan Rakyat,” the source told FMT on condition of anonymity due to the sensitivity of the issue.
Sangeet, who is also a lawyer, is also the Selangor DAP women’s wing deputy chief.
If that happens, she would be the fourth Karpal’s child to run for a parliament or a state seat (corrected).
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Karpal rose to become chairman of the DAP, a major force in the Malaysian politics.
Karpal died in a car accident in 2004. His son Ramkarpal Singh, who was travelling with him in that fateful incident, later on won his dad’s parliament seat in a by-election. He retained the seat in 2008.
At the national level, DAP had always been an opposition party. However, the party’s fortunes changed in the 2008 national general elections when Pakatan Rakyat, a coalition that included DAP, won the state elections in Penang, Selangor and Perak.
In that year, Karpal’s eldest son Jagdeep Singh Deo won the Dato Keramat state seat in the Penang. He retained it in the subsequent elections in 2013 and was made a member of the Penang state exco, holding the line-up Town, Country Planning and Housing committee portfolio.
On her part, FMT reported that Sangeet grabbed media attention on Jan 8 when she voiced her reservations over the naming of Pakatan Harapan (PH) chairman Dr Mahathir Mohamad as the coalition’s prime minister should the opposition win the 14th general election (GE14).
Disagreeing with the move, she said the fact that the opposition had “no one else” to choose to be prime minister showed its lack of long-term strategy.
“The focus should always be on policies and principles (not personalities) and leaders must be groomed to ensure continuity.
“While it may be an act of desperation, as was our coalition with PAS at one point, will we be open to working with Najib (Prime Minister Najib Razak) one day, should desperate circumstances demand?” she had asked in a statement.
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Politics has been a family business tradition and occupation in several countries for decades as in USA and other countries. It has also been common among some in Malaysia and Karpal’s family is the first Sikh family to follow this tradition.
Politics may be among the best paying jobs worldwide as it provides a position of influence/power and living on others’ income and this can be seen from the comparative luxury life style of some of the successful politicians in many countries.
Politics may be equated to the movie/entertainment industry which requires support of majority and family connections may provide easy access to entry.
CONGRATULATIONS FOR THIS REALIZATION. HOPE OTHERS WILL FOLLOW AND CONSIDER POLITICS AS A PROFESSION.
Gur Fateh