Palanivel brushes aside reports on candidacy

MIC president G Palanivel has brushed off media reports that he would be fielded in Cameron Highlands in the coming general election.

"Our main concern is to win all seats (to be contested by the party) no matter what it takes, and all candidates that we're planning to field must be winnable candidates," he said.

He told reporters this after attending a gathering with Tamil school principals in Kuala Lumpur today.

In the 2008 general election, Palanivel lost to PKR’s Zainal Abidin Ahmad in Hulu Selangor by just 198 votes after serving in the constituency since 1990.

Speculation as to where Palanivel would contest in the next general election has been rife in the nation’s Tamil dailies since he took over as MIC president in December 2010.

In another development, Palanivel said more proactive measures were to be taken by the government to uplift 523 Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil (SJKT) in the country, including in academic performance. 

To bring about transformation to Tamil schools, he said that a 'coordinator' had been roped in, in the form of Professor Dr NS Rajendran, an expert in pedagogy and thinking skills at Universiti Pendidikan Sultan Idris.

"We'll work closely with Professor Rajendran in planning future Tamil school curriculum, sports, facilities, syllabus and other plans. All this is for a brighter and more secure future for the schools and students," he said.

- Bernama