KUALA LUMPUR - MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel did not honour the promise he made to the party and the people on Dec 18, a former top party man alleged today.
Former MIC treasurer Datuk Jaspal Singh said he was initially pleased when Palanivel announced that there would be a special committee set up to examine ways to resolve these disputes.
“I’m very sad he did not honour his word that he made on live TV and instead made a U-turn when he met RoS with his lawyers to seek clarification.
“He failed to inform us of this move.
“If he wants to be respected, he should have kept to his word,” he said during a press conference at MIC headquarters here today.
He said Palanivel surprised him again when he recently changed the MIC leadership line-up.
“This was just a distraction from the real problem that’s plaguing the party.
“The line-up was not an issue and he should not be focusing his attention there.”
When asked about MIC Central Working Committee (CWC) member Datuk R. Ramanan’s claim that the MIC president wanted to form a new party consisting of only his supporters by getting the party de-registered, Jaspal said “there is no winner if the party was de-registered”.
“Even so, Palanivel must remember that forming a new party does not get it automatic entry into Barisan Nasional (BN) to represent the Indians. Only MIC has that privilege.”
He said following the recent events, MIC was now seen as weak.
“Many small parties are now coming forth and are at BN’s doors, claiming they have a lot of Indian support.
“The small parties could end up replacing us. So we should solve our problems as soon as possible,” he said, adding that as it stands, the possibility of MIC getting de-registered was high.
“Remember even Umno was de-registered once. The letter from RoS is a blessing in disguise as there were many issues within MIC.
“Leaders must now change the way they run the party, by being more visionary and inclusive. The party has to be for all and not just its supporters.”
Jaspal said complaints and issues raised by many members, including branch chairmen, led to RoS issuing the letter to MIC. Jaspal was one of the complainants.
“I contested for the post of vice-president in that polls. I initially won, but lost after a recount was ordered.
“My protest was that the recounted ballot box had been tampered with, but my complaints were ignored by the Election Committee.”
Common complaints included dead and bankrupt people contesting in elections, defunct branches, members recruited at the 11th hour solely for the purpose of participating in elections, as well as new branches being formed during the elections.
“Political parties of today must have clean and fair elections because people are not afraid of speaking up,” said Jaspal.
He urged the president to make collective decisions regarding the party.
MIC was thrown into disarray after the party was notified by the RoS on Dec 5 to hold re-elections for the vice-president, CWC posts as well as some divisional posts within 90 days. - http://www.therakyatpost.com/
No comments:
Post a Comment
Note: Only a member of this blog may post a comment.