Kuala Lumpur, December 16 – MIC President Dato Seri G.Palanivel has called for a CWC (Central Working Committee) meeting on Thursday, 18th of December amidst widespread objections in the party that such a meeting is invalid and has no legal basis.
Since the ROS (Registrar of Societies) has declared that the election held on the 30th of November last year for the CWC members and Vice-Presidents is null and void, how can there be a CWC meeting comprising those so called “elected” members, the detractors are questioning.
A protest gathering is being planned by the group spearheaded by former Youth leader Datuk T.Mohan to object to the said CWC meeting.
Supporters are being urged to gather at MIC HQ at 1 pm on Thursday to protest against the President for calling the CWC meeting against the directive of the ROS.
A Lawyer familiar with laws on Societies and Political parties commented that there are only two validly elected leaders in MIC now and they are President Palanivel and Deputy President Dr Subramaniam and the only avenue opened to them is to appeal to the Home Minister against ROS decision as provided under the Societies Act. “Until they can over-turn the ROS decision by an order of the Minister or by a judicial review, the decision of the ROS stands and remains valid. They cannot officially or legally summon a CWC meeting. Of course they are free to have an informal meeting of CWC members elected last year but any decision taken at such a meeting has no legal validity” The Lawyer further said.
Which of the two CWC is now valid?
Party sources said that based on the ROS decision, it is the CWC that was elected in 2009 which is still valid with administrative powers. This is because article 47 of the MIC Constitution clearly spells that the elected CWC “shall hold office for 3 years or until the next triennial elections whichever is later”.
After 2009, the next triennial elections took place in 2013 and since those elections have been declared invalid by ROS, automatically, the “old” CWC that was elected in 2009 has now been re-instated into power.
In this regard there are no Presidential powers provided by the MIC Constitution to act otherwise, party sources pointed out.
Current Treasurer General and Secretary General not validly appointed?
Even the appointment of current Treasurer General (TG) and Secretary General (SG) are questionable. MIC Constitution provides that the President shall appoint TG and SG from amongst the members of the CWC and further provides that the President shall have powers to appoint 9 CWC members.
“So, Prakash Rao was appointed last year as SG based on his elected CWC status but those elections in 2013 (where Prakash Rao was elected) having been declared null and void, Prakash Rao is not a CWC member now. The President must appoint him again as a CWC member first before he can legally serve as Secretary General” party sources claimed.
However, Palanivel must also now declare who are 9 members of CWC whom he has appointed through his presidential powers provided under the MIC Constitution. Since he is validly elected as President he still has powers to appoint 9 CWC members but the question that looms now is which of the two CWC is legally valid, the one elected in 2009 or the one elected in 2013?
In the case of TG, Datuk Murugesan can be considered as a valid appointment since he was a member of the outgoing CWC that was elected in 2009. So he remains a CWC member through-out the period and need not be re-appointed but Prakash Rao must be appointed as a CWC member first before he can function as Secretary General.
If Palanivel fails to carry out this appointment (of Prakash Rao) then the CWC meeting scheduled on 18th of December is not valid since it was called by a Secretary General who as at that time was not a valid and legal CWC member, one party source said categorically. Whether it is also legally valid on other grounds is another matter.
“Amidst such legal confusion, the safest path for Palanivel now is to consult the Deputy President and either submit an appeal to the Home Minister or accept the ROS decision and go-ahead with the re-election. He will be getting into more troubled waters if he goes ahead and calls for an official CWC meeting of those elected on the fateful day of 30th of November 2013” – the party source concluded.
