The party strongman who for months has been engaged in a fiery leadership battle with the infamous Ngeh-Nga cousins, was delivered a severe blow today when he and his team of supporters were wiped out from the party’s state leadership.
A total of 60 per cent of delegates who cast their votes in today’s crucial polls had rejected the national vice-chairman’s bid to stay on as a member of the committee.
On the flip side, the same number chose to elect both the Ngeh-Nga cousins and their entire team of loyalists to helm the party’s Perak chapter.
The results were a slap on the face for the Ipoh Barat MP, and although the new team of state committee members have decided to co-opt him into the team as vice-chairman, it is unknown for now if he will accept the invitation.
To rub salt in the wound, only one of Kulasegaran’s team of supporters —Jalong assemblyman Leong Mee Meng — made it to the committee, and even then, the incumbent treasurer barely scraped through in last place.
When approached by reporters after the announcement was made, a downcast Kulasegaran told reporters that he was thinking of retiring from politics entirely.
“I am shocked with today’s results. Maybe I will retire from politics entirely,” he said.
He noted that he still held a post in the party’s national leadership as the vice-chairman but added that he would speak to the top national leaders on the matter.
“This is very difficult for me,” he added.
Kulasegaran, however, still spoke on possible irregularities in today’s polling process, claiming that several unregistered branches had been allowed to cast their ballots.
When contacted later, he refused to comment on the results of today’s polls.
“I am not in the mood to talk right now. I will speak to you later,” he told The Malaysian Insider.
When contacted, Kulasegaran’s political secretary D. Tanabalan said that the leader would likely issue an official press statement tomorrow.
“For now, he will rest. Maybe he will accept the vice-chairman appointment, maybe he will not,” he said.
Tanabalan, who also contested in the polls and earned 308 votes, refused to talk further on the polls.
“Best not to say anything. Otherwise, they might say our bid backfired... about Ngeh, Nga... no, it is best not to comment,” he said.
Of the party’s 1,228 delegates, 972 turned up to vote today. Of the total, 42 votes were spoiled.
Kulasegaran only managed to secure 395 votes in total, placing him at 17th place, behind his closest ally, Thomas Su Keong Siong, the Pasir Pinji assemblyman who also failed to make it into the committee.
Su said he felt “sad” with results and described it as a “setback”.
He told The Malaysian Insider that he was still unable to comment on the matter as he was still reeling from the results.
“I think the extent of the results... that is what is difficult to accept. Maybe I will comment tomorrow,” he said.
The Perak DAP leadership spat, which has been ongoing since before Election 2008, flared up recently when Kulasegaran threatened to quit his party posts following an unresolved dispute with his arch-rivals, the Ngeh-Nga cousins.
His outburst was later tempered down when national leaders like DAP advisor Lim Kit Siang and secretary-general Lim Guan Eng stepped into the fray to intervene.
Since then, all party members have abided by Guan Eng’s advice to ensure that all internal squabbles were settled behind closed doors.
Kulasegaran and his men have since maintained silence and today’s polls were set to be a crucial milestone in the leader’s struggle, one that would determine the course of his leadership in the party.
The cousins — chairman Datuk Ngeh Koo Ham and secretary Nga Kor Ming — prevailed in today’s polls and stormed to an easy victory by polling the two highest numbers of votes.
The others who made the team were also said to be strong supporters of the duo, indicating that they had secured a near-clean sweep of the Perak DAP leadership.
Kulasegaran’s ongoing battle with the Ngeh-Nga cousins are over several leadership issues, including the duo’s leadership styles and the formation of branches in the state.