Kuala Lumpur, February 3 – “MIC President Datuk Seri G. Palanivel is behaving like a dictator and trying to force his decisions down the throat of the poor MIC leaders. Palanivel who behaves like a hermit, is one who does not meet the party leaders and lives in a world of his own, not lifting a finger to resolve the party issues but believes in coming out with press statements which he believes would help the party” slammed former MIC Youth leader Datuk T.Mohan (pic).
In a press statement released Mohan further said “As a responsible president, he should call for discussions with state and other national leaders and obtain their consensus before announcing any decision which affects the party”
“Palanivel who is dubbed the U-turn president, has failed to respect his elected deputy Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam as well as the elected youth and wanita chiefs and the two elected CWC members from both wings. There has not been any mutual discussion since the crisis started last December” Mohan pointed out.
Palanivel breaches PM’s moratorium
Mohan also claimed that by attending a meeting with Johore MIC branches, Palanivel had breached the moratorium set by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak.
At the meeting, Palanivel claimed that the MIC will hold fresh elections for all party posts, from branches to national level as the best solution to resolve the present problems faced by the party. The elections, he said, would also cover the Wanita and Youth wings.
“I want to know on what basis and authority is Palanivel making the announcement without any proper discussions. The party belongs to all MIC members and the president is at their beck and call. The president should go back to the members to get a mandate and not make a decision according to his own whims and fancies” retorted Mohan.
The current crisis in MIC is due to the ineffective leadership of Palanivel as well as the illegal formation of branches in the party by leaders aligned to the president, Mohan claimed.
Palanivel banking on illegal branches
“The current issue is confined to that of the election for the 3 Vice presidents and the 23 CWC members which was irregularly conducted and as such there must be a re-election. The president should concentrate on fulfilling the requirements of the Registrar of Societies and not come up with his own solutions which I believe is his own way to remain in power through illegal means”
“I have a strong feeling that Palanivel is banking on these illegal branches which had been formed, as a basis to remain in power. Palanivel’s group claims that more than 450 branch chairman were present at Sunday’s meeting in Johor but we have information that only 170 branches were represented while the others were non branch chairmen, brought in to shore up their support” Mohan alleged.
In his press statement Mohan also said : “Palanivel also claimed that he has the majority support in Johor, Kedah, Selangor, Negri Sembilan and Pahang but in reality, more than 50% of the divisions have lost confidence in the president. In Johore, more than 13 out of the 26 divisions, four out of eight in Negri Sembilan, nine out of 12 divisions in Kedah, 10 out of 13 divisions in Pahang and in Palanivel’s Selangor state, 15 out of 22 are openly against the president. In a meeting held recently, which was widely reported, more than 95 division chairmen had already pledged their confidence in deputy president Datuk Seri Dr Subramaniam in resolving the crisis in the party”.
Will Palanivel resign if 51% branches sign against him?
“Despite such a strong opposition towards his leadership, Palanivel seems to be confident, in his own world of imagery that he still have the confidence of the MIC members. I believe Palanivel has breached the moratorium to buy time to plot his next move after the majority of the division chairmen ditched him” Mohan said.
“If Palanivel is sincere in wanting fresh elections, then he should start by having the presidential election first. There is nothing for him to be scared as he is on record that 3,000 out of the 3,700 branches are his supporters. But I want to challenge him, whether he would resign his president’s post if 51% of the branch chairmen sign a petition that they had no confidence in Palanivel. Would the president accept such a challenge?” asked Mohan.
“His tactic of having the branch elections first and then the other party elections is his way of dilly- dallying and a tactic to buy time and is aimed at hoodwinking everyone. We must stand firm that the decision of the ROS should be strictly followed before any other decision for fresh elections is considered” Mohan concluded.
