PETALING JAYA, JULY 15- With just a month to go before the MIC presidential elections kick off, the heat is on with members and leaders accusing each other in order to strengthen their respective camps.
Supporters of MIC president G Palanivel have started throwing various allegations against former MIC president S Samy Vellu and his followers, allegedly over the latter’s backing of a rival to challenge the incumbent president.
On the other hand, Palanivel himself has come under attack over his style of leadership, with his detractors claiming that he was a passive leader.
The combative Samy Vellu kicked off the election heat by breaking his silence and criticised the way MIC is being managed under Palanivel, his handpicked successor.
The 77-year-old party veteran claimed that MIC needs to be infused with new blood, and this did not go down well with the supporters of Palanivel.
In reaction, former senator S Rawisandran and the political secretary to the incumbent president, P Palaniappan have questioned Samy Vellu on the issues pertaining to the administration of MIC’s education arm MIED and the party’s university AIMST University.
Samy Vellu is the chairman of the MIED board. He also heads the AIMST University’s board. Rawisandran, who is also a member of the Central Working Committee (CWC), in a press statement urged Samy Vellu to “walk his talk”.
“MIED must open up and be democratic. Why isn’t CWC members and division chairmen made members of MIED?” he asked.
He added that qualified persons should sit on the board of both MIED and AIMST, and that both the organisations should be managed professionally.
He reiterated that community interest must be safe guarded above self. “The public demands people with credibility and substance to manage the assets,” he said.
Palaniappan meanwhile stressed that the AIMST University was built using public funds, and controversies concerning this party asset must be settled once and for all.
“Does the university belong to the Indian community of Malaysia via MIC or does it belong to a foundation controlled by a few people?” he questioned.
Defending Samy Vellu
MIC youth wing chief T Mohan came to the defence of the former MIC president by stating that “we should not ignore the history and the contributions made by Samy Vellu in giving a lifeline and developing the party”.
Mohan slammed Rawisandran for asking absurd questions in regards to AIMST.
“The AIMST office is situated in the MIC building and the administration of the university is handled by the MIC office bearers,” he said. “Samy Vellu will continue heading AIMST.
The decision was taken in the CWC meeting with Palanivel agreeing to the decision,” he said. “Why is Rawisandran now raising the AIMST ownership issue when the decision was made on June 25 this year?” Mohan asked.
Palani’s Kedah fiasco
On another development, Palanivel continued to come under fire from party members – this time over his decision to replace the Kedah party chief S Anandan last week.
Palanivel is now the Kedah MIC chief. Taman Mutiara, Padang Serai branch chairman Sarjit Singh questioned Palanivel’s motives in replacing Ananthan.
“I am utterly disappointed with Palani’s move, ” he said. It is widely speculated that Palanivel took over the state leadership to strengthen his position for the forthcoming party polls.
Kedah has 353 branches and has long been the fort for Samy Vellu. This may have a negative impact on the chances of Palanivel to retain his leadership as the president, thus forcing him to make this move hurriedly.
MIC presidential election nomination will be held on Sept 1, with the polls on Sept 22. The president will be elected by all the 3,988 branch chairmen.
It is widely speculated that Palanivel will be challenged by his deputy, Dr S Subramaniam with the “blessings” of Samy Vellu.
