Saying he could not understand where the daily got the information from, the Perai assemblyman from DAP indicated that he wanted to serve for another term.

Ramasamy said the list of potential candidates had not been submitted yet to the party’s central leadership by the state DAP.

“I want to serve my party for one more term and I have stated this publicly.

“No one can be in this position forever. I will leave it to the party to decide,” he told FMT when contacted.

Currently, Ramasamy is in the Netherlands leading a state delegation on official duty.

Ramasamy said he has a good relationship with the party and federal government, adding that being vocal for the right reasons did not mean that he was against DAP or the government leadership.

The report by The Star on Wednesday indicated that he would be asked to step down as DAP embarks on a path to inject new blood into its line-up.

The 74-year-old has served three terms since he made his election debut in 2008 after quitting as an academic. The polls marked the fall of the Barisan Nasional government in Penang, which had been in power since 1973.

Before entering politics, Ramasamy was a professor at Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia, from which he officially retired in May 2005.

He later took up teaching positions in Germany and Singapore before entering politics.