Palanivel tells Registrar to back down

Told to face new election, MIC leader threatens legal action

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G. Palanivel, ordered to face a party election for his position, has demanded that the Registrar of Societies (ROS) withdraw all its directives since December, and has threatened to bring legal action if the registrar did not comply by Tuesday.

Palanivel said the registrar had acted unlawfully in ordering fresh elections in the party and setting out certain conditions, making it “impossible to resolve” the MIC issues.

He said he tried to compromise with ROS as much as possible out of respect for the prime minister, his deputy, the home minister, and the secretary-general of the Barisan Nasional coalition.

He accused the registrar of acting “with blatant disregard of the law” and left him no choice but to go to court.

Palanivel demanded that the registrar withdraw all letters sent to the MIC, including those dated Dec 5, Dec 31, 2014, and Feb 6, and to accept the MIC’s proposals set out on Feb 5.

He said the registrar had acted against the MIC’s constitution and the Societies Act and that its directives were wrongly and unlawfully carried out.

In December, the registrar annulled the MIC’s elections to the central working committee of November 2013 and ordered fresh elections to the central working committee and the three vice-presidents.

Last week, however, the registrar named an interim central working committee to conduct the party’s affairs, and ordered fresh elections for all positions including that of president and deputy president, which had been unopposed in 2013.

Palanivel accused the registrar of holding an illegal meeting yesterday with members of the committee.