Gunabalan - Penang DAP members do not want Indian parachute candidates

DAP's K. Gunabalan said that the party's Indian candidates for Penang should be from the local community.
Gunabalan, DAP's Indian cultural bureau head, said local Indians should be the preferred choice to lead their community in the state.
"The grassroots members do not want any parachute candidate, including Deputy Chief Minister II Dr P. Ramasamy, to be fielded in the state," he said, adding it would lead to discontent amongst Penang DAP's Indian members.
Gunabalan made the statement following recent calls from Indian grassroots leaders in the state for Ramasamy to be dropped from the Batu Kawan parliamentary and Prai state constituencies, which he won in the 2008 general election.
The other Indian elected representatives from the DAP are A.Thanasekaran (Bagan Dalam), R.S.N. Rayer (Delima), Jagdeep Singh Deo (Datuk Keramat) and Karpal Singh who won the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary seat.
Gunabalan, who is married to Wanita DAP chief Chong Eng, said there was a split amongst Penang Indian leaders due to favouritism allegedly practised by Dr. Ramasamy.
Ironically, it was the Gunabalan who requested Karpal to allocate the Prai state seat, initially earmarked for Chong Eng, to Dr Ramasamy.
Gunabalan also said, in a letter addressed to Karpal, that the grassroots members were concerned with numerous incidents which had smeared the party's and state government's image over the last two years.
A copy of the letter, which was also sent to DAP adviser Lim Kit Siang, state DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow and secretary general Lim Guan Eng, was also sent to The Star.
Gunabalan also alleged his bureau's efforts to have a dialogue with grassroots members to better understand issues and challenges were also stopped.