Arumugam ‘missing’ after quitting Kedah exco

SUNGAI PETANI, Feb 9 — Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) assemblyman for Bukit Selambau, V. Arumugam, who had resigned as the state executive council member, has now gone missing.

No one seems to know the whereabouts of the former Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs, Siamese Community Affairs, Unity, Estate Workers and Indian Community Affairs committee chairman.

Not even Menteri Besar Datuk Seri Azizan Abdul Razak, apparently. “I’ve been trying to contact him but he could not be reached,” Azizan told reporters here.

Arumugam was absent at the investiture ceremony in conjunction with the birthday of the Sultan of Kedah, Tuanku Abdul Halim Mu’adzam Shah, at the Istana Anak Bukit here this morning.

A check by Bernama at his rented house at the Kelab Cinta Sayang housing area, here, found that the house was locked with no sign of people inside.

According to neighbours, Arumugam was seen leaving the house with family members two days ago. Efforts to contact him through text messages also proved futile as they went unanswered.

Earlier, Azizan told a news conference that Arumugam had sent his resignation letter to the Sultan of Kedah. He did not, however, extend a copy of the letter to Azizan.

Azizan said that an aide of Arumugam told him that the Bukit Selambau assemblyman was relinquishing the post due to personal reasons and not because of Pas leadership.

Arumugam, 55, a retired Royal Malaysia Airforce mechanic, contested in the 12th general election last year as an Independent candidate.

He won the Bukit Selambau seat, defeating Barisan Nasional (BN) candidate S. Krishnan with a majority of 7,695 votes. He emerged at the last minute as the Independent candidate when the Returning Officer rejected the nomination papers of Saiful Izham Ramli of PKR on technical grounds.

Arumugam later joined the PKR and was appointed a state executive council member.

Recently, a group of people claiming to be representing 500 residents of Taman Ria in Sungai Petani submitted a petition to the Sultan of Kedah claiming that a state executive councillor was involved in an affair with a woman. — Bernama

Sumber : TheMalaysianInsider