Sources reveal that the three MIC parliamentary incumbents will move to other seats and that the party will contest nine parliamentary seats.
Subramaniam, the Segamat MP, is expected to stand in Hulu Selangor.
PETALING JAYA: A major shake-up in MIC candidates is expected for the 14th general election, with the three incumbents, including the party president, expected to move to other seats.
Party president Dr S Subramaniam, the Segamat MP, is expected to stand in Hulu Selangor.
This was confirmed by two politicians, one a senior Barisan Nasional leader and another a senior leader in the MIC.
The MIC, said the BN leader who did not wish to be named, would contest nine parliamentary seats, the same as in 2013,
At present the MIC is represented in parliament by Dr Subramaniam, M. Saravanan (Tapah) and P Kamalanathan (Hulu Selangor).
Former party president G Palanivel, who won the Cameron Highlands seat, is now an independent. He ceased to be a member of the party after he took a leadership tussle with Dr Subramaniam to court in 2015.
The MIC contested and lost the seats of Sungai Siput, Teluk Kemang, Kapar, Subang and Kota Raja in the last general election.
The source revealed that Dr Subramaniam will head to Hulu Selangor to replace Kamalanathan who is said to be out of favour in the party.
A senior MIC leader, when contacted, confirmed the shake-up in MIC candidates for GE14 and that Subramaniam would stand in Hulu Selangor.
“Yes, everyone knows Subra wants Hulu Selangor. There is talk that Kamalanathan has courted enough controversy in the party to lose favour. We do not know where he will go,” he told FMT.
It is uncertain if this has anything to do with recent allegations in the Tamil media over the appointment of contractors to build 39 Tamil schools in the country. Kamalanathan is deputy minister of education.
As reported by Utusan Online, Kamalanathan lodged a report with the Malaysian Communications and Multimedia Commission (MCMC) against the TMM 2.0 Extra Facebook page that first published the allegation.
It is unclear where Kamalanathan will stand or if he will be given a seat at all.
Kamalanathan beat PKR’s Khalid Jaafar with a 3,414-vote majority in Hulu Selangor in GE13.
Kamalanathan says the selection of candidates is the prerogative of the party president.
When contacted, Kamalanathan said the selection of candidates was the prerogative of the party president.
“The party president decides after consultation with the prime minister. I have full faith in the ability and wisdom of both the prime minister and the party president to choose the right candidates to contest in the coming GE14,” he told FMT.
He was nominated to contest Hulu Selangor in the 2010 by-election and he won. “My election promise then was to work day and night for the community and I have been doing just that since. I was again nominated to contest the Hulu Selangor seat in 2013 and won it with a bigger majority.”
The BN source said Segamat, the current constituency of Dr Subramaniam, was no longer deemed “safe”. One reason given was that Segamat PKR coordinator Edmund Santhara has been gaining ground after working the seat for three years.
Attempts to get comments from Dr Subramaniam have been unsuccessful. The Segamat seat was won by Dr Subramaniam after he beat PKR’s Chua Jui Meng by a 1,217-vote majority in 2013.
MIC treasurer-general Vell Paari is likely to stand in Cameron Highlands.
In Cameron Highlands, things are getting more interesting as the BN source revealed that one of the names submitted from MIC to contest the seat was MIC treasurer-general S Vell Paari, who is the son of eight-term Sungai Siput MP and former MIC president S Samy Vellu.
He said three names were submitted by the MIC and none of them included the current MIC Cameron Highlands coordinator and MIC Youth chief C Sivarraajh.
When contacted, Vell Paari denied such a scenario. “No such move by the president (Subramaniam) or me. Let’s wait,” he said.
Palanivel beat the DAP’s Manogaran Marimuthu by a wafer-thin 462-vote majority in 2013 to capture Cameron Highlands.
It was also reported that myPPP president M Kayveas had said Prime Minister Najib Razak had “promised” to name him as the candidate for Cameron Highlands because he had worked the ground for more than three years.
The source said Tapah, interestingly, was not as safe as people assumed it was due to past performances of BN there.
“The Malays and Orang Asli in Tapah are not happy with BN. They have become disillusioned with BN and are leaning towards the opposition. The split in Malay votes there now also favours Pakatan Harapan.
Devamany the former Cameron Highlands MP is rumoured to move to Tapah.
“It looks like MIC might put its deputy president SK Devamany there,” he said.
When contacted, two-term Cameron Highlands MP Devamany refused to comment on the possibility, saying: “You need to ask the PM and president, not me.”
The source said current Tapah MP and Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Saravanan was touted to stand in Sungai Siput.
Sungai Siput is currently held by PSM’s Dr Michael Jeyakumar but he faces a stern test as PKR has decided to stand there as well this year. The three-cornered fight looks to benefit the BN.
Jeyakumar was dubbed “giant killer” after trying three times and finally beating Samy Vellu in 2008 and retaining the seat in 2013.
Saravanan is said to be moving from Tapah to Sungai Siput.
Saravanan had fared well in Tapah in the past, increasing his majority to 7,927 votes in 2013 from 3,020 votes in 2008. Attempts to reach Saravanan were unsuccessful.
The MIC leader told FMT there was talk that Devamany was being touted for Tapah and that either Vell Paari or Saravanan would likely contest the Sungai Siput seat. He said Sivarraajh might get a state seat to contest.
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