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The former Seberang Perai city councillor, who left DAP on Wednesday, said the main reason he threw his hat into the ring – and was running as an independent against the party’s preferred candidate, S Sundarajoo – was to ensure Chow Kon Yeow would remain chief minister after the polls.
He claimed that DAP chairman Lim Guan Eng was manoeuvring to regain the chief minister position he relinquished in 2018 to become finance minister, despite endorsing Chow. FMT has reached out to Lim for comment.
DAP member S Suras Mohan, 38 said that he did not mind facing disciplinary action for supporting Marshel.
“As a matter of fact, I am going to leave the party, but I have not decided when,” he told FMT, adding that there are party members who are going to announce their resignations tomorrow.
Suras said Marshel was sidelined by DAP despite having done a lot for the party over the past 15 years and doing an exemplary job for the Perai community on the city council over the past decade.
Meanwhile, Penang DAP Youth committee member M Kogilan, 28, said he was not bothered by any likely disciplinary action.
“If they want to take any disciplinary action against me for voicing the truth, it does not matter to me. The party can take any action,” he told FMT.
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Kogilan said DAP has not recognised Marshel’s contributions by giving him the chance to contest in a federal or state seat, despite his years of service to the party.
“It is not fair that zero opportunity was given to someone as good as him. A good, local candidate should have been given the opportunity. Instead, DAP has fielded an outsider,” he added, alluding to Sundarajoo.
Batu Kawan DAP Youth committee member L Yoganathan, 27, said there was no point staying in a party that failed to understand the sentiments on the ground, especially the Indian community, for leaders like P Ramasamy, M Satees and Marshel, when deciding on candidates for Penang.
Vincent Darren Xavier, 37, said that he was willing to resign for backing Marshel’s independent bid, adding that he was saddened that the party had deviated from its long-time practice of fielding grassroots leaders who have long served the community as election candidates.
He also said that he had considered leaving the party because Dr RA Lingeshwaran was made a senator despite only having joined the party few months prior to his appointment.
“However, my leaders have told me to continue doing my work for the party and not to resign yet. They said ‘we will see’, but things are getting worse,” he told FMT.
Marshel is involved in a four-candidate race in Perai, where he will face Muda’s H Vikneswary, Perikatan Nasional’s R Sivasuntaram as well as Sundarajoo.
Earlier this morning, Marshel and Sundarajoo shared a tense moment when Marshel refused to shake hands for the camera.
He was seen taking a step back after photographers asked them to pose for a photo after filing their nomination papers.
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