ROS: We drafted notice to MIC, nobody else

The Registrar of Societies (ROS) has denied receiving any draft of its Jan 6 notice to the MIC from an alleged third-party aligned to MIC president Dr S Subramaniam​.

The notice served to uphold an earlier R​O​S directive ordering fresh ​MIC elections to be held from Jan 31 this year and adds that no further appeals would be entertained.

ROS director-general Mohamad Razin Abdullah told Malaysiakini ​yesterday ​that the notice issued under Section 16(1) of the RoS Act 1966 was drafted by his officer.

“The contents of the notice were discussed internally. As far as I know, it was drafted by my officer and sent after some amendments were made.

“And as far as I know, ROS never received any draft from the MIC,” Razin said when contacted for his response to allegations that the ROS notice was drafted by Subramaniam’s camp.

Razin added that the notice was drafted after taking into account the outcome of its investigation that involved supporters from the feuding MIC camps.

At a press conference on Monday, an MIC leader aligned to former president G Palanivel, AK Ramalingam, revealed a copy of the alleged draft he said was sent to the ROS by Subramaniam’s lawyers.

Ramalingam claimed the draft, circulated via e-mail in Subramaniam’s camp, was reproduced wholesale by the ROS and served as a notice that was then allegedly used to support the nullification of MIC’s 2013 election results.

The only difference between the alleged draft and the actual notice, he claimed, was the use of the ROS letterhead.

"This is proof that the notice was a deceitful way to remove Palanivel (photo) and the legitimately-elected 2013 MIC central working committee," Ramalingam said in the statement he released at the press conference.

Based on this revelation, Ramalingam said, the original 2013 CWC members would be seeking a judicial review to reinstate their positions in MIC.

The re-election for all posts in MIC was held after the ROS issued a directive stating that it does not recognise the party's 2013 election results because of complaints on discrepancies during the elections.

The re-election was held on Nov 6 and won by Subramaniam's camp. Lawsuits filed by representatives from Palanivel's camp to try and stop the re-election were dismissed. -Mkini