Stay out, MIC tells Ku Nan

The direct appointment for R Ramanan as his special advisor has landed Federal Territories Minister and Umno secretary-general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor in 'hot soup' with MIC.

KUALA LUMPUR: A MIC division leader today lashed out Umno secretary- general Tengku Adnan Tengku Mansor for appointing an Indian representative as his special officer without consulting the party.

“The person appointed is a MIC member. The appointment is for the party.

“The question now is why was this person appointed without any consultation with the party. None of the division leaders in Kuala Lumpur were consulted prior to the appointment.

“I doubt very much that the Kuala Lumpur MIC chief M Saravanan (who is also Youth and Sports deputy minister) knew about this appointment.

“As a Barisan Nasional and Umno top leader, Tengku Adnan should have consulted the party prior to the appointment.

“We have many senior, capable leaders for the special officer’s post. If the person was nominated by the party top leadership, then Tengku Adnan should have checked if the person is suitable to hold the position,” said the leader  who declined to be named.

The debate on the appointment has been raging among top MIC leaders over the past week.

A week ago R Ramanan from the Bukit Bintang MIC division was appointed as Tengku Adnan’s special officer. The Umno secretary-general is also the Federal Territories Minister.

His appointment did not go down well with some top party leaders, who had complained directly to the Minister over the appointment.

According to sources, Tengku Adnan instead of keeping the conversation private, had told several other MIC leaders of the grouses and that MIC grassroot leaders were unhappy with Ramanan’s appointment.

“This opened the flood gates. The cause of this problem is Tengku Adnan…as a senior leader he should know what to say to whom.

“The opposition has been saying that component parties like MIC and MCA are subservient to Umno.

“And what Tengku Adnan is doing is proving the claim right. The MIC would have more support from the Indian community if it pulled out from the Barisan Nasional. Umno must understand that.

“Do not use your old tricks and make us your ‘yes man’. Those times are gone. Now every decision we make must be explained to the rakyat,” he added.

The division leader said the onus is on Tengku Adnan and the party-president G Palanivel to explain why a junior leader has been appointed to the post of special officer to the Minister when there were many other capable senior leaders waiting in line.

“I really hope both the parties can explain the rational behind the appointment at least to division leaders.

“We would then be able to answer any queries about it to members and the people if the need arises,” he added.