Selangor exco Xavier Jayakumar yesterday accused P Kamalanathan of being a "phantom voter" in the Sungai Siput constituency, during his speech in Hulu Selangor.

The seat was a stronghold of the MIC's long-time president Samy Vellu before PSM's Jeyakumar Devaraj seized it from him in the 2008 general election.

NONE PKR Penang Pantai Jerejak state assemblyperson Sim Tze Tzin also levelled the same charge in his twitter while revealing Kamalanathan's ( left ) IC number.

His twitter message read: "Shocking! Dr Xavier just revealed that Kamalanathan is pengundi Hantu in P62 Sungai Siput. Check for yourself 651018-10-XXXX".

Malaysiakini carried out a check on the Election Commission (EC) website with the IC data provided, and the result shows that it belongs to one P Kamalanathan, who is a voter in the Sungai Siput parliament constituency and Jelong state assembly seat.

The EC data also shows that this Kamalanathan address is Heawood Garden, and votes in Simpang Tiga.

Jayakumar later told Malaysiakini that Kamalanathan is living in Rawang, and his IC address is Rawang, and now he is a BN candidate for Hulu Selangor by-election, yet he votes in Sungai Siput, so it is clear that he is a phantom voter.

'Will not comment'

"I think a man who wants to be a member of parliament should be principled and accountable for what he has done before.

"It shows that he not to be trusted and is willing to break the law," said Jayakumar.

However, there is some doubt over this issue, as the relevant electoral law had been amended prior to the 2004 general election making situations like Kamalanathan's to be legal.

Malaysiakini called P Kamalanathan for clarification who said he will explain the issue when the time is right.

"I am now focusing on the election in Hulu Selangor, I want to meet the voters, I want to make friends with the voters, I will not comment it now.

"I will comment it at the right time. I want to go for a meeting, bye bye."

Malaysiakini also SMSed the IC number to Kamalanathan for verification but there was no response.

At an earlier interview, Kamalanathan had admitted that in his younger days, he had stayed in Sungai Siput for a while, although he maintains that he has been a Rawang resident for 44 years.