‘Barat Maniam was appointed as he is neutral’

MIC secretary-general S Murugesan debunks claims by a branch leader who alleged that party president G Palanivel was trying to remove him.

PETALING JAYA: Factionalism within the Petaling Jaya Utara (PJU) MIC branches was the reason behind the appointment of Petaling Jaya Selatan MIC division chief V Subramaniam as coordinator there.

“Not only is Subramaniam a senator, he also hails from the nearby division and is aloof of the internal problems in PJU,” said MIC secretary-general S Murugesan.

Earlier today, SS2 Tengah MIC branch leader S Padnmangan questioned the party’s decision to appoint Subramaniam, better known as Barat Maniam, as a coordinator at his area, claiming the latter had not even received an appointment letter from the headquarters.

“They have also failed to give us the B Form to update our membership, which will lapse on Dec 15,” the branch leader reportedly said.

Dismissing Padnmanagan’s claims, Murugesan said that party headquarters had issued a letter of appointment to Subramaniam.

Padnmanagan also called on party president G Palanivel to quit politics, accusing the latter of blocking others from serving the community.

He further alleged that Palanivel had failed to provide allocation to PJU MIC branches since 2009 to conduct programmes for the local Indian community.

But Murugesan disputed this. He said that it was a usual procedure that allocations for party works are normally channelled through its division leaders.

“That’s why we tried to revive the division since 2011 but Padnmanagan told us that there were some complaints against some of the local branches that needs to be resolved first.

“We checked the matter with our disciplinary committee chairman, KS Nijhar, and he agreed with Padnmanagan’s view.

“In the meantime, we appointed Subramaniam as a stop-gap measure to resolve issues there but now he is complaining about that too,” said Murugesan, who urged party members to close ranks nearing the general election.

No show

Meanwhile, Subramaniam, when contacted, said that he called for two meetings since early this year, with all 23 MIC branches in PJU to resolve whatever problems they had.

“I informed all the branches that I will give the B Form in the meetings but only 13 branches showed up. Those aligned to Padnmanagan failed to show up.

“So how am I to give them the forms? They don’t have to respect me but at least respect the party constitution,” he said.

Subsequently, Subramaniam said three branches from Padnmanagan faction met him to get the B Form.

“As per the procedure, I told them to submit an explanation letter on why they were absent, which they did. The party found their explanation satisfactory and the form was issued,” he said.

The three MIC branches were from Damansara Baru, Rumah Pangsa Damansara Bistari and Section 19.

Subramaniam also denied any intention of sidelining Padnmanagan or his team in the party.

“What am I going to get from that? I’m just a temporary coordinator there pending the division election which will be held soon.”

On his appointment letter, Subramaniam said, “I challenge Padnmanagan to prove that I did not receive the letter.”