After a thumping victory over the other candidates for the Bukit Gelugor seat, Ramkarpal Singh has dedicated his win to his late father and national hero Karpal Singh.
“The most important thing as far as I am concerned, in this election, is my father, the late Karpal Singh. He is certainly an important part in this victory. I dedicate it entirely to him.”
“I knew throughout the campaign, he was always with me. He was certainly part of this victory,” he said after his win.
Later, he tweeted,”this victory is dedicated to my dad…”
Ramkarpal won after receiving 41,242 votes, a whopping 89 percent of votes cast in the by-election. The thumping majority of 37,659 majority announced his arrival into politics as Member of Parliament with a convincing nod by the voters of Bukit Gelugor.
When the official results were announced by the Election commission at 9.05pm on 25 May in Dewan Sri Pinang, George Town, cheers of joy and victory shouts were heard. Ramkarpal was lifted up by his supporters who gathered to celebrate his victory together with his brothers, Gobind Singh Deo and Jagdeep Singh Deo.
Ramkarpal’s mother Gurmit Kaur embraced her son and teared when hearing the news. Also present to celebrate his win were Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, PAS National Unity Committee chairman Dr Mujahid Yusof Rawa and Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow.The mood in the DAP operations center was relaxed with party workers watching the Thomas Cup.
Voter turnout was at a low 56.04 percent with many voters not bothering to vote as Barisan Nasional did not field a candidate in this by-election. The seat previously saw a voter turnout of 86.30 percent in the 13th General Election. Despite the low turnout, Ramkarpal garnered 89 percent of votes cast compared to his late father’s 79.1 percent last year.
The other three candidates, Huan Cheng Guan of Parti Cinta Malaysia, and Independent candidates Mohd Nabi Bux Mohd Abdul Sathar and Abu Backer Sidek Mohammad Zan didn’t fare well. All three lost their deposits, with horse logo contender Abu Backer gaining the least amount of votes – even less than the number of spoilt votes. -The Rocket
