KULIM, Nov 16 — The late M. Karupaiya, who was set to defend the Padang Serai parliamentary seat in the 15th General Election (GE15), always dedicated his time to serving the people.
His eldest son, K.Sataisilan, said Karupaiya’s experience as the warrant officer 1 of the Malaysian Armed Forces also made him a highly disciplined person.
“He was a very straightforward and disciplined man. He always spent time helping the people of Padang Serai, whether on the ground or in Parliament.
“His last advice was for us to work for the party and make sure the party will win,” he said when met at his house in Taman Cekur Manis, Kulim today.
Sataisilan also confirmed that his father, who is Pakatan Harapan candidate for the Padang Serai parliamentary seat, had previously suffered from a heart problem and was referred to the National Heart Institute for treatment.
Karupaiya, 69, breathed his last at Kulim Hospital at 2.27 pm today. He was admitted to the hospital on Monday after he collapsed during a campaign.
The deceased was fielded to defend the seat in a six-cornered fight with Hamzah Abd Rahman (Pejuang), Datuk C. Sivaraajh (Barisan Nasional), Mohd Bakhri Hashim (Warisan), Datuk Azman Nasrudin (Perikatan Nasional) and independent candidate Sreanandha Rao in the election this Saturday.
In GE14, Karupaiya won the seat with a majority of 8,813 votes, defeating PAS candidate Muhamad Sobri Osman and BN candidate Datuk Dr Leong Yong Kong.
Meanwhile, PKR vice-president Nurul Izzah Anwar said that the passing of Karupaiya was truly felt by party members.
“He was one of the people who kept encouraging us. He often said that we would succeed in our struggle to uphold justice and bring a better future for the people,” she said.
Nurul Izzah said PKR would ensure the welfare of the deceased’s family and leave it to the party leadership to decide on the next step for the parliamentary seat.
