The Pakatan Harapan (PH) candidate for the parliamentary seat of Padang Serai in Kedah, M Karupaiya, died today, just days before the election on Nov 19. He was 69.
His death was confirmed by PH secretary-general Saifuddin Nasution Ismail.
"It is with great sadness and sorrow that I announce that M Karupaiya, former MP for Padang Serai and the PH candidate for Padang Serai (in GE15) passed away today.
"The last time we met was on Nov 14, on a ceramah stage in Kulim. He gave a brief speech and applauded at the end of the PH chairman's speech," he said.
Karupaiya was also a former warrant officer 1 of the Malaysian Armed Forces and head of the Padang Serai PKR division.
Kulim district police chief Mohd Redzuan Salleh said Karupaiya died at Hospital Kulim at 2.27pm.
"The cause has not yet been ascertained. It will only be known after the post-mortem," he said.
Karupaiya had faced a six-way fight at the upcoming polls.
At the 2018 general election, he won the seat with a majority of 8,813 votes, defeating PAS candidate Muhamad Sobri Osman and BN candidate Leong Yong Kong.