MIC grassroots reject 3 candidates

They demand changes in Selangor, Pahang and Malacca.

PETALING JAYA: Discontent within the MIC grassroots has grown and activists are urging Barisan Nasional Chairman Najib Tun Razak to reconsider the choice of candidates from the Indian-based party.

Batu Caves community leader P Muniandy told FMT that Pakatan Rakyat was already leading 1-0 in the Selangor electoral race with the nomination of N Rawichandran as BN’s candidate for the Batu Caves seat.

“You can take my word on this,” he said. “It is a sure win for Pakatan in Batu Caves.”

Rawichandran is the chairman of MIC’s Serdang division.

Muniandy said Rawichandran’s candidacy would also affect BN’s chances of winning back the Gombak parliament seat because the same voters will be making their choices.

Batu Caves has about 34,000 voters. About 18,000 of them are Malays and 8,500 are Indians. The rest are Chinese, Orang Asli and others.

In 2008, PKR’s Amiruddin Shari defeated MIC’s T Mohan by 3,639 votes. It is speculated that Amiruddin will defend the seat in the coming election.

Muniandy said MIC president G Palanivel had made a fatal mistake in choosing Rawichandran.

“From the beginning, we asked Palanivel to field a local man. But he insisted on Rawichandran, who has a bad track record in Serdang.”

He added that Rawichandran had no understanding of local issues. “There are hundreds of issues still pending. They can be solved only by a local who really understand them.

“There is still time for Najib to reconsider the decision before nomination day.”

Problem in Pahang too

The MIC candidate for the Pahang state seat of Sabai, R Goonasakaran, is facing a similar form of opposition.

“MIC is making a costly mistake in choosing him,” said G Maniam, a party activist in Bentong.

MIC chose Goonasakaran, an aide to the Pahang Menteri Besar, after the incumbent for Sabai, M Davendran, decided to withdraw from the race.

“Being a special officer to the MB is not a qualification to contest in the election,” said Maniam.

He said DAP candidate C Kamathcee could “easily demolish” Goonasakaran by highlighting his personal problems.

“Thousands of pamphlets about his alleged wrongdoings have been circulating in Pahang.”

Maniam added that Goonasakaran’s was also disadvantaged in being a stranger to the Sabai community.

“Why has the party president brought someone from Kuantan to Bentong when more eligible local candidates are available?” he asked.

Sabai is was the only Pahang state seat that MIC won in 2008, albeit with a slim majority. Davendran was a three-term state assemblyman. He also leads Pahang MIC.

Protest in Malacca

In Gadek, Malacca, where the BN candidate is MS Mahadevan, 13 MIC branch chairmen from all over the state staged a protest yesterday against his candidacy.

They said MIC might as well dissolve its liaison committee in Malacca since the party had ignored its recommendations in the selection of candidates.

Bukit Asahan branch chairman G Narayanasamy alleged that it was Malacca Chief Minister Ali Rustam who chose Mahadevan, not MIC.

Mahadevan is Ali’s special advisor on Indian affairs.

“We want Najib to retain R Perumal as our representative in the state government,” he said. Perumal won in Gadek in 2008 against Pakatan’s Amin Sudin. He served in the outgoing Malacca executive council.

MIC has yet to explain his exclusion from its list of candidates.