KUALA LUMPUR — There appears to be a stark disparity between electoral partners Muda and Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) in terms of their candidates’ wealth, with members of the former far surpassing the latter.
The parties, which have teamed up for the state elections, had yesterday made public their candidates’ asset declaration documents, which revealed that two of Muda’s candidates have a total combined wealth of about RM20 million.
In contrast, out of the four PSM candidates contesting the state polls, the party’s most affluent candidate is Dengkil hopeful Darren Ong Chung Lee, whose assets are worth RM850,000.
The mathematics professor earns an RM14,000 salary and has RM40,000 in his savings account alongside RM450,000 in investments, a RM10,000 fixed deposit and a half-owned home with a current market value of RM300,000.
Besides owning an RM50,000 Honda City, Ong has no property, vehicle or personal loans, with his income divided between his monthly bills (RM3,000) and contributions to his family (RM2,000).
The Dengkil state seat is set for a four-corner fight between Ong, Barisan Nasional’s (BN) Noorazli Said, Perikatan Nasional’s (PN) Datuk Seri Jamil Salleh and Parti Utama Rakyat’s Mohd Daud Leong.
Meanwhile, PSM secretary-general Sivarajan Arumugam, who is vying for the Kota Damansara state seat, has RM465,336.54 worth of assets, including a 1991 Mercedes Benz E260 valued at RM7,000.
Sivarajan, who declared his position in the party as his full-time job, receives an RM3,250 monthly salary for his post, out of which RM1,968 is spent on his monthly insurance and utility bills.
He also has RM8,336.54 in a savings account and a RM450,000 home in Cheras, which he has owned through a bank loan since 1994.
Sivarajan will be part of a three-way battle for the Kota Damansara state seat against Pakatan Harapan’s (PH) Izuan Kasim and PN’s Radzlan Jalaludin.
Besides that, the party’s sole female candidate, Sivaranjani Manickam, has RM368.916.25 in assets, including a low-cost flat worth RM150,000, an RM24,500 Axia as well as an RM80,000 Proton X50.
In addition to having RM7,282.10 in her bank account, the Meru candidate has RM81,000 worth of loans involving her home and one of the cars.
Her monthly salary of RM8,320 as a community outreach manager at Asylum Access Malaysia is spent fulfilling her loans, rent and other bills amounting to RM3,380.
The candidate who appears to have the least assets is PSM deputy chairman S. Arutchelvan with an RM34,085 wealth. He disclosed that a “majority” of the RM86,207.84 in his bank account is funds collected for party use.
The Kajang hopeful also has a total of RM7,624.88 in two separate fixed deposit accounts as well as a low-cost terrace house worth RM200,000.
Besides having a RM27,000 Proton Saga and a Honda motorbike estimated to be worth RM500, Arutchelvan’s sole income of RM2,000 is sourced from his wife.
He will be going against PH’s David Cheong and PN’s Allan Liew Sin Kim for the Kajang state seat. — August 4, 2023