MIC denied it gave an inaccurate picture of the Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting regarding the decision not to contest the Jeram Padang seat in the last Negeri Sembilan election.
Its secretary-general RT Rajasekaran said the party gave way to Umno because it was not confident of winning the seat.
He added that the matter was acknowledged by former Negeri Sembilan MIC chairperson L Manickam, who decided to leave the party yesterday.
He said during the MIC meeting on June 30, party president SA Vigneswaran specifically asked Manickam, who held the seat for two terms, whether he wanted to contest it again.
“Manickam clearly stated that he was not sure about the chances of winning the seat and agreed to follow any decision taken by the party at the meeting,” Rajasekaran (above) said.
He said the CWC meeting then decided not to contest the Negeri Sembilan election because it was not given any seats in the other five states, and it was not worth contesting in Jeram Padang because the chances of winning were slim.
“Therefore, CWC members, including Manickam, unanimously decided that the party will not contest because the chances of winning are slim,” he told Malaysiakini, adding that the CWC’s decision was also shared through a media statement at the time.
However, Rajasekaran said that after the CWC decision, Manickam met the president at his residence and expressed his desire to contest in Jeram Padang.
“The president then asked Manickam to send his request to the CWC WhatsApp group.
“Once again, CWC members unanimously stated that MIC should not contest in any state assembly seat thus maintaining the decision taken in the meeting on June 30,” he said.
Manickam’s resignation
Yesterday, Manickam, who also heads the MIC Jempol division, announced his decision to resign and leave the party with immediate effect.
He gave two reasons for doing so, including MIC’s decision to hand over the Jeram Padang state seat to be contested by Umno.
Manickam, who has been a MIC member since 1979, said the party’s leadership did not provide accurate information regarding the seat in the party’s CWC meeting.
Meanwhile, Rajasekaran also denied Manickam’s claim that he (Rajasekaran) was only briefly present at the Jempol MIC division’s annual general meeting and failed to confirm attendance and quorum, thus causing the meeting to fail to be held.
“This is a false statement. I have the right to take further action against him for making a false claim about me,” he said.
According to Rajasekaran, he was at the AGM of the Jempol division 15 minutes before the meeting started and greeted everyone who was there. However, he said, the AGM could not be held because the quorum was insufficient.
“According to the MIC constitution, this division consists of 44 branches and 79 delegates should attend the meeting.
“However, from the photographs (taken at the time), it is clear that the division’s AGM did not reach the quorum.
“As the MIC secretary, I have instructed the Jempol MIC to hold the AGM again,” he said.
In the six state elections held in August, MIC decided not to contest after claiming to be sidelined over seat distribution.
At that time, Vigneswaran said BN never discussed giving seats to MCA and MIC, especially in Kedah, Penang, and Selangor.
He said, apart from that, Umno was also not serious when holding seat discussions with Pakatan Harapan on behalf of MCA and MIC. - Mkini
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