MIC president S Samy Vellu has threatened legal action against a news portal for publishing a report that he said was highly mischievous.

NONE He said the Malaysian Insider’s report today that the party would sabotage and boycott the April 25 Hulu Selangor parliamentary by-election was an imagination beyond truth.

This was not the only occasion and the portal had been carrying out a continuous onslaught in the party for some reason, he said when commenting on an article in the MI which claimed that the party would boycott the by-election if MIC deputy president G Palanivel was not selected to stand again.

Choice between Palanivel and Mugilan

The MI reported that Umno's campaign to field MIC deputy Youth chief and local boy V Mugilan in place of Palanivel as the BN candidate in the April 25 by-election had resulted in some MIC leaders going slow in their campaign and cancelling many functions.

The seat fell vacant following the March 25 death of incumbent MP Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad of PKR who defeated four-term MP Palanivel in the 2008 general election. Nomination is on Saturday.

Samy Vellu said he would instruct his lawyers tomorrow to send a notice to the news portal to give them an opportunity to apologise, failing which action would be filed.

He said the party had not cancelled any function.

- Bernama