George Town, August 29 – Now, all eyes in MIC are on the MIC Penang State Delegates conference scheduled to take place tomorrow at 11 am at the Safira Country Club in Sebarang Jaya, Penang.
After witnessing heated exchange of debates and commotion at the Perak MIC annual delegates conference held last Sunday 24th of August, MIC leaders are expecting similar or worst scenariowill be heading Penang tomorrow.
The Penang MIC meeting is also expected to be a heated affair and tempers are expected to flare as the delegates and MIC branches in the state are already divided over several political issues.
The Tamil media is also running front page news on the Penang MIC meeting tomorrow.
Meeting to center on 4 main issues
There are four main issues that are currently debated among MIC branch chairmen and division leaders in Penang. The first is the signature campaign against Penang MIC State liaison committee chairman M.Karuppannan calling for his removal as State Chairman.
The MIC branches in Penang are said to be disappointed with the weak leadership of Karuppannan that has caused deep rifts among the branch and division leaders. Hence, some leaders have launched a signature campaign for the removal of Karuppannan and more than half the branches in the state are said to have supported the move by signing the petition.
The second issue hotly debated among Penang MIC branches is the dinner function organized by Karuppannan himself inviting supporters of Pakatan Rakyat. Local MIC leaders are angry and questioning the need to organize such a dinner for MIC branches with well-known Pakatan Rakyat supporters.
The third issue dominating Penang MIC today is the appointment of Senators. The former Penang state chairman Dato Subbiah passed away while serving as a Senator and for the last two years expectations were running high among MIC branches in Penang that a Penang MIC leader would be appointed for the senate left vacant by the demise of Subbiah.
However, that Senate position has gone to Selangor causing unhappiness among the Penang MIC branches. The fourth issue that is expected to take center stage at the Penang meeting tomorrow is the lack of funds and support from MIC HQ for the MIC branches and divisions in the state.
In BN controlled states like Perak and Kedah, the MIC gets fund allocations, town and Municipal council appointments and other political patronages. But in Penang which is strongly controlled by Pakatan Rakyat, the MIC branches and divisions are suffering from lack of funds and support from MIC HQ to carry out political work in the state and to win back the Indian votes.
Palanivel ignores Penang state...
All these issues put together have created a feeling that the state is neglected and completely ignored by party President G.Palanivel.
Some have predicted that Palanivel may give the Penang MIC meeting a miss, similar to what he did when he avoided attending the CWC meeting in Ipoh after the scuffle in Perak MIC meeting.
The CWC meeting was held in Ipoh on the 24th of August after the Perak state meeting. But Palanivel asked Deputy President Dr S.Subramaniam to chair the CWC meeting and avoided attendance thereby shunning a barrage of questions lined up by CWC members.
Some MIC sources in Penang believe Palanivel may take the same position in Penang, thereby attempting to reduce the heat generated as a result of political developments in Penang.
