JOHOR BARU: Days after Malaysian United Democratic Alliance (Muda) president Syed Saddiq Syed Abdul Rahman apologised for claiming that S. Gopalakrishnan had neglected the welfare of his constituents, the Tiram assemblyman is under fire again.
This time, a Johor coalition of non-governmental organisations is claiming the Johor PKR vice-chairman had committed a series of wrongdoings, including falsifying documents and misappropriating funds.
The group’s president, K. Murushwaran, claimed that they had received complaints from local constituents as well as from four of Gopalakrishnan’s former special officers.
“We reported the matter to the police, Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission and Election Commission in 2019 but no action was taken against him,” he told a press conference here.
He said they had proof such as letters bearing the state government logo, payment vouchers and police reports.
Those who filed complaints have also signed statutory declarations.
Murushwaran said Gopalakrishnan had refused to meet with the NGOs or even answered their calls and only agreed to do so yesterday after they threatened to go to the media.
“If PKR fields him again in the state polls, we will protest and campaign to oppose the candidate,” he added.
Gopalakrishnan, when contacted by The Star, called the threat a “political ploy”.
“I will call for a press conference on the matter later. I have been aware of these claims since 2019,” he said, adding that they were nothing but accusations.
Asked if he would be defending his seat, Gopalakrishnan said: “If given a chance, I want to, but the decision is up to the party’s top leadership.”
On Feb 5, Syed Saddiq uploaded several pictures of him meeting with the Indian community in Ulu Tiram and claimed he had received complaints that the assemblyman did not care about the people’s welfare.
When Gopalakrishnan fired back at the Muar MP asking him to back up his claims, Syed Saddiq deleted his Facebook post and replaced it with an apology.