The imminent retirement of Barisan Nasional chairperson and Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad from active public life has given rise to speculation in the Indian community that MIC deputy president S Subramaniam is now preparing the ground to take on party president S Samy Vellu in the forthcoming party presidential elections in 2003.

The incumbent MIC president has recently amended the party constitution whereby the president will be elected by secret ballot and shall hold office for three years until the conclusion of the next presidential election, whichever is later.

Prior to this amendment under the previous system, only delegates from each division were allowed to vote.

The new system, based on the entrenched position of the incumbent presidency, gives the edge to the party president to remain in office even if he is no longer popular with the grassroots of the party and community.

Subramaniam. the party's number two and one of the longest serving deputy ministers in the country since 1974, is said to have become "active" again in the Indian community in a move to enhance his popularity level within the party.

Challenging Samy Vellu for the president's position is not something new for Subramaniam. He had twice challenged Samy Vellu for the No1 post in the party. But recently he is said to have made "peace" with the party president for reasons of sheer political survival.

Subra's uncanny ability to be the deputy president of MIC for nearly three decades is based on his ability to behave like a typical civil servant even though he is a deputy minister and this has kept him above controversies.

He has his own way of "feathering his own nest" in the MIC by ignoring the sacking of his staunch supporters by Samy Vellu himself just to retain his party post, and now most of his supporters are found in the People's Progressive Party and Indian Progressive Front.

Samy Vellu has of course benefitted most from such a "peace pact" with his deputy, but Subra's supporters from the local "kaunder" ethnic Indian groups and his sympathisers from PPP and IPF have urged him to take a more aggressive role in the MIC following Mahathir's retirement announcement.

MIC stalwarts note that Samy Vellu has benefitted much under Mahathir's leadership, and it is said that he shall be dropped as cabinet minister if Abdullah Ahmad Badawi becomes the prime minister.

Subramaniam, believed to be a close friend of Umno information chief Megat Junid, is now given wide publicity in the vernacular Malaysia Nanban newspaper, and this is a new phenomenon.