KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 18 — MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel (pic) says, he and his deputy will get further clarification from the Registrar of Societies (ROS) next week, over its directive to hold fresh elections for the party’s three vice-presidents and 23 Central Working Committee (CWC) members.
Speaking to reporters after chairing the working committee meeting today, he said both of them would also meet with Home Minister Datuk Seri Ahmad Zahid Hamidi to discuss the issue.
In a room packed with more than 50 journalists and photographers, Palanivel said: “We have to discuss this within 90 days as we do not want the party to be de-registered.”
Today’s meeting was known as the ‘working committee meeting’ (since CWC is invalid due to orders from ROS) because it is different from the previous ones, as it included six former CWC members such as the party’s former Youth chief, Datuk T. Mohan, former Puteri chief S. Usha Nandhini, Datuk N. Muniandy and
their lawyers to sit in the meeting and voice out their opinions.
“To solve this problem efficiently, we will establish a special joint committee comprising the leadership (Palanivel and deputy, Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam), five complainants to ROS of irregularities into the party elections and five more,” he said.
Palanivel said the outcome of the discussion with ROS and Ahmad Zahid would be later discussed in the joint committee before taking the next course of action.
“If we cannot manage the party well, the party can be de-registered, so we have to manage the party and I have to speak to the home minister regarding this,” he added.
Asked whether MIC would appeal against the ROS directive, Palanivel replied the party would not appeal as yet as matters were still at the discussion level.
Earlier, Mohan and the party’s strategic director Datuk Seri S. Vellpaari, representing a slew of members who complained about irregularities in last year’s MIC elections, handed over a letter to Palanivel, asking the leadership to call off the CWC meeting which they said was invalid.
Palanivel however, continued with the (working committee) meeting as planned and the two-hour meeting went on smoothly with heavy police and Rela personnel presence.
Since 12.30pm, Mohan, together with 500 supporters gathered in the vicinity of the MIC headquarters, carrying banners and playing loud Tamil songs bearing ‘cynical’ lyrics, amidst heavy police presence.
The party’s former youth chief and a few others took turns to make short speeches, calling on Palanivel to resign from his post as his decision to appeal could further damage the 68-year-old party.
There was also a commotion as members jostled to enter the meeting room, causing some to appeal for calm.
Mohan, who met reporters after the meeting took the opportunity to thank Palanivel for his openness in allowing them to sit in today’s meeting to voice out their dissatisfaction.
He alleged: “We will continue to fight for re-election since there were irregularities and power abuse in the party’s elections held on Nov 30 and Dec 1, last year in Malacca.”
He hoped matters could be solved amicably.
Last Friday, Palanivel said the meeting, among others, would discuss “some uncertainties” in the ROS letter that was handed to the party secretary-general on Dec 5.
The ROS had nullified the elections for the three vice-presidents and 23 CWC posts held during the party’s general assembly in Malacca last November.
In the Dec 5 letter, the ROS said they had recommended that the posts be re-elected within 90 days, following alleged irregularities and breach of the party’s constitution and the Societies Act.
The ROS has advised the MIC not to hold its annual general meeting until the matter was resolved.
— BERNAMA
