Rumblings of rebellion in MIC Youth may spoil Palanivel’s party
So will Najib’s united MIC be just a pipe dream?
Sonia Ramachandran, The Ant Daily
MIC president Datuk Seri G Palanivel must be heaving a huge sigh of relief with the new line-up of vice-presidents and central working committee (CWC) members voted in at the party’s annual general assembly on Nov 30.
After all, two of the vice-presidents and 17 of the 23 elected CWC members are believed to be the president’s men.
He has yet to appoint another seven CWC members, which will surely be his men, effectively putting decision-making control in his hands.
But Palanivel might not want to be overly jubilant just yet for he might have underestimated the power of the Youth wing in the party.
A party insider, who spoke to theantdaily on condition of anonymity, said the Youth wing is not going to keep quiet about its former leader Datuk T Mohan being ousted in his bid for the vice-presidency.
Mohan was one of eight candidates who vied for the vice-presidency in the election, which saw former vice-president Datuk S Sothinathan, incumbent Datuk M Saravanan and Johor Baru division chairman Datuk S Balakrishnan elected as the three vice-presidents.
The other candidates were Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker Datuk SK Devamany, former Youth chief Datuk SA Vigneswaran, MIC treasurer-general Datuk Jaspal Singh and Bukit Bintang division vice-chairman James Selvarajah.
The elections drew the ire of many delegates as a Tamil daily, regarded as Palanivel’s “mouthpiece”, had splashed photographs of Sothinathan, Jaspal, Vigneswaran and Balakrishnan as the president’s preferred choice of candidates a week before polling.
“It’s no longer fighting behind closed doors and presenting a united front to the public, it’s now outright war. The fight is now personal and public,” said the party insider.
This is also due to the fact that newly elected MIC Youth chief C Sivarraajh is closely aligned to Mohan.
The party insider said MIC elections had always been determined by two factors, namely the party president and the caste-based system.
“This is the reason factions are created within the party. Sothinathan’s win is proof of this. Usually the whole contest will be determined by the combination of the above two factors,” he said.
Saravanan and Mohan are believed to be in Team B who are said to be aligned with former MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu and who also happens to command huge support within the party. Those aligned to Palanivel’s camp are said to be in Team A.
How will the election results affect party unity?
