Larry Sng's controversial and rapid rise in PKR

INTERVIEW | Before the PKR leadership elections got underway, few PKR members and Malaysians outside of Sarawak would have heard of Larry Sng Wei Shien.

Sng appeared on the national political radar after winning the Julau parliamentary seat as an independent during the May 9 elections. He would join PKR three days later.

Four months later, he offered himself as a candidate for PKR's central leadership council (MPP) election and beat a long list of established party figures, according to Malaysiakini's unofficial count.

[Editor's note: The actual result was never made public by PKR, so placing on the MPP race remains unknown.]

In an interview with Malaysiakini recently, Sng explained he had initially been "reluctant" in taking part in the PKR election but was coaxed by deputy president contender Rafizi Ramli to be part of the latter's "cai dan" (Mandarin for restaurant menu, meaning voting guide).

He was grateful for the experience, which he described as "colourful", as it had sped up his initiation to his new party, offering him the opportunity to meet members throughout the country.

As for his controversial performance, Sng attributed it to numerical luck.

"I think I was very lucky to be able to have picked number 11 (for my candidate number).

"Number 11 is a number reflected on the first page of the tablet for the list of MPP [...] and it is easier to vote for those on the first or second pages than it is to vote for those on the later pages.

"So in that sense, I was a bit lucky to be high on the list," he said.

Despite his win, Sng was the only individual to be booed during the ceremony to present certificates to the new MPP members at the recent party congress...