Bukit Gelugor by-election: Ramkarpal Singh as DAP candidate

DAP named the late Karpal Singh’s third son Ramkarpal Singh as Pakatan Rakyat's candidate to contest in the Bukit Gelugor parliamentary by-election on May 25. The announcement was made by DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng during the launch of the Bukit Gelugor by-election operation centre on Saturday. The decision to choose Ramkarpal was made by the DAP candidate selection committee, chaired by Lim Guan Eng. "Ramkarpal is the most suitable and eligible candidate to be nominated for DAP and Pakatan Rakyat," he said. Also present at the ceremony was DAP Parliamentary leader Lim Kit Siang, PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu, Penang DAP chairman Chow Kon Yeow and other Pakatan Rakyat leaders. Ramkarpal, 38, is a lawyer who graduated from the University of Bristol, United Kingdom. Until now, the Barisan National (BN) has not made a stand on whether to compete or not in the by-election. On Friday,Parti Cinta Malaysia (PCM) deputy president Datuk Huan Cheng Guan announced that he will contest in the Bukit Gelugor by-election. A member of PAS, Mohamed Nabi Bux Mohd Nabi Sathar also expressed his desire to contest in the by-election on the same day. Previously, Pakatan Rakyat activist Hishamuddin Rais in a forum had suggested for PAS deputy president Mohamad Sabu to be named as Pakatan Rakyat's candidate for the by-election. The by-election is held following the death of its incumbent Karpal Singh in a road accident. The Election Commission set May 12 as the nomination date, while May 25 as polling day for the Bukit Gelugor by-election. Karpal, who was former DAP chairman, won the seat in the 2013 general election with a majority of 42,706 votes, beating BN candidate Teh Beng Yeam, who polled 13,597 votes.