Palanivel no longer MIC member, says Subramaniam

Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam (centre, arms raised) and his supporters seen at the MIC gathering at the Putra World Trade Centre in Kuala Lumpur today. - The Malaysian Insider pic by Nazir Sufari, June 21, 2015.

The MIC special gathering today by the faction opposed to Datuk Seri G. Palanivel has passed resolutions agreeing that the party president was no longer a member of the Barisan Nasional's largest ethnic Indian party.

The first resolution passed was that the party would abide by the Registrar of Societies (RoS) directive to conduct re-elections and uphold the court's finding that Palanivel and four others had filed the suit against RoS in their personal capacity.

The second resolution passed was according to Article 91 of the MIC constitution which stated that no party matters could be taken to court without the central working committee's consent, and anyone who did so would cease to be a party member.

"Today we have passed the resolution, with full support, that Article 91 of the constitution is enforced because the five individuals went to court without the consent of the party and the CWC.

"So they must face the consequences of their actions," MIC deputy president Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam said in his speech today at the Dewan Merdeka in Putra World Trade Centre.

The special conference today saw 2,758 branch chairmen, 95 division chairmen, 45 division coordinators and 6,000 observers and ordinary members in attendance.

In his one-hour speech today, Subramaniam told delegates the purpose of the gathering was to clear up the confusion about the party's status.

"We had expected the president to protect us, bring us forward, but instead he was the king behind all the confusion in the party," he said.

Subramaniam said Palanivel had "dug his own grave" when he decided to take the RoS to court, as this had led to his automatic expulsion.

"We didn't even sack you. But when you announced our suspension, we were forced to inform the public that you are no longer a member of MIC, according to Article 91 of MIC's constitution.

"The constitution applies to everybody, equally," he said.

He also shared his vision for the future of MIC, which would involve rejuvenating the party and attracting new, young members.

"MIC is not an ancient party. We can modernise MIC so that technology is part of the party as a tool to help us in our operations," he said.

He proposed that the party constitution be reviewed to provide more democracy and to look into the "extraordinary powers" of the president.

"We must also choose state assembly and parliamentary seats that are winnable. The more seats we win, the more respected the party will be among the community.

"We cannot just blindly field our candidates in any seat," said Subramaniam.

The MIC saga erupted following differences in opinion between Palanivel and Subramaniam after the RoS issued a notice last December 5 directing the party to hold re-elections for the three vice-presidential and 23 CWC posts.

The RoS had nullified the elections held in November 2013 following complaints of irregularities and ordered fresh polls to be held.

Palanivel took his case to the High Court but last Monday his two judicial review applications to quash the directive of the RoS to hold new elections were dismissed.

The court upheld the registrar’s decision for the party to hold re-elections at all levels (branches and divisions), including the president’s post.

On Monday, Palanivel issued a press statement announcing the 12-month suspensions of his deputy Datuk Seri S. Subramaniam and 13 others for holding a central working committee (CWC) meeting the next day, which he said was illegal.

The drama heightened when Subramaniam terminated Palanivel's membership in that CWC meeting, which also appointed him the acting president to replace the latter.