MIC’s Palanivel in a pickle over video

MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel has been recorded on camera making candid remarks about the party such as MIC members will vote for the opposition in the event of the Permatang Pauh by-election. – The Malaysian Insider pic, March 30, 2015.

A video of MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel making candid remarks about party members and Indians uploaded on a Facebook page has put the beleaguered leader in a spot.

Uploaded on the Kitchen UP TV Facebook page, the three-minute plus clip shows Palanivel speaking candidly on several issues where he says MIC members will vote for the opposition in the event of the Permatang Pauh by-election.

The Cameron Highlands MP also speaks about his lower majority at the last election in May 2013 and the opposition’s role in getting the large numbers at his recent birthday bash.

Palanivel also talked about the consequences of what would happen if he was removed as Cameron Highlands MP following the Pahang Sultan's criticism of his performance.

The Malaysian Insider has tried to contact Palanivel’s office for comment but there has been no response.

The Facebook page operator who identified himself only as Jason said he had uploaded the clip so that people would know “what type of leaders we have now.”

He said the clip was shot at a private meeting between Palanivel and the crew.

“I could not provide you more details as this will put my safety at risk. I have more videos of Datuk Seri Palanivel’s confession which I will upload very soon,” he said in a message to The Malaysian Insider while assuring that the clip was not fake or superimposed.

He said Palanivel should have been aware that he was being filmed as it was a formal interview and not a casual talk.

The Kitchen UP TV Facebook page does not carry much information about itself, and appears to have started its Facebook presence earlier this year.

Palanivel also blamed the Indians in Cameron Highlands for the Barisan Nasional’s (BN) reduced majority when winning the seat for the coalition.

“I won every Malay vote box, you see. The fellow (opposition candidate) who get 70 votes I'll get 400 votes, I only lost the bloody Indian vote box,” he said.

He even cast doubts on his party colleagues’ commitment toward the BN and suggested that party members would vote for the opposition given a chance.

The MIC president also gave the impression that he had close links with PKR which he credited to the success of the huge turnout at his recent birthday bash at the MIC headquarters in the capital.

MIC Youth chief C. Sivarraajh said he received calls from youth members who have watched the video.

He added that they were dismayed over Palanivel’s choice of words in describing voters and party members.

“As a president he should not say blood Indian. In whatever scenario, he should not say that. He must clarify whether he is the man in the video,” he said.

Sivarraajh said Palanivel should immediately lodge a police report if he was not the person in the video.

“I would be happy to do it on his behalf if he does not want to,” he said.

The video comes on heels of a crisis that is pitting its party members against each other.

It arose due to differences in views after the Registrar of Societies (RoS) declared the election of the three vice-president posts and 23 CWC posts at the party's general assembly in Malacca in November 2013 null and void.

In a letter dated December 5, 2014, RoS ordered MIC to call for a fresh election for the posts within 90 days.

The conflict within the party worsened after Palanivel, on February 14, requested the RoS to withdraw all its letters as it allegedly contravened the party constitution and Societies Act and threatened to take legal action if RoS did not comply.

- TMI