Kuala Lumpur, June 24 – Speculations are rife that in his usual sudden u-turn manner, embattled MIC President Dato Seri G.Palanivel is calling for the 2009 CWC meeting tomorrow at Putrajaya Pullman Hotel at 5 pm.
Reliable sources confirmed that invitations have been sent to only those 2009 CWC members aligned to Palanivel.
Sources close to Palanivel also claimed that the meeting would proceed without the 15 CWC members suspended by him, including Deputy President Dato Seri Dr S.Subramaniam and Vice President Datuk M.Saravanan.
Furthermore, Palanivel is expected to appoint another 9 members as CWC members into the 2009 CWC under the presidential powers specified in the MIC Constitution. MIC Constitution provides that the party President may appoint 9 members in MIC’s Central Working Committee.
The meeting scheduled tomorrow is also set decide the dates for the party elections.
A check at the Putraja Jaya Pullman Hotel revealed that one of the function rooms has been booked for a MIC meeting.
MIC sources said Palanivel’s camp is trying to make a last minute desperate attempt to stay legally relevant in the ongoing legal battle by recognizing the 2009 CWC and taking it over by themselves.
While the RoS has always maintained that the 2009 CWC is legally valid, the KL High court also pronounced on June 15 that the 2009 CWC is the valid legal entity to carry out the functions of the party.
By calling for the 2009 CWC and presiding over it, Palanivel is trying to maintain that he is still the President of the party. At the same time he is also trying to show that his suspension of the 15 CWC members by virtue of his presidential powers is also valid. In addition he is maintaining that he is entitled to appoint 9 CWC members as President.
He is also expected to endorse Datuk S.Sothinathan as the Secretary General of the 2009 CWC at its meeting tomorrow.
Whether all these actions by Palanivel are legally valid and whether these decisions would be ratified by the RoS is totally another matter.
A blow to Palanivel’s stay order application?
However, lawyers following the MIC-RoS case point out that if the 2009 CWC meeting scheduled tomorrow proceeds as planned it would cause a serious damage to Palanivel’s stay order application scheduled to be heard by the KL High Court on the 10th of July.
The RoS directive is to recognize the 2009 CWC and Palanivel is challenging that directive. By he himself calling for the 2009 CWC he is contradicting himself and this could become one of the contention points when the stay order application comes up before the High Court Judge on 10th of July.
Dr Subra’s camp is maintaining that Palanivel and four others are not members of MIC anymore by virtue of the interpretation of Section 91 of the MIC Constitution. They are also contending that the suspension of the 15 members by Palanivel is not legally valid as it was done without the CWC’s endorsement and further that Palanivel was not a member of MIC by virtue of Section 91 as at the time of suspending the 15.
