A full minister will always carry more weight when up against an "ordinary person" in a general election, a bullish MIC president G Palanivel said as he weighed the chances of the party’s candidate for the Segamat parliamentary seat.

MIC deputy head and caretaker human resources minister Dr S Subramaniam will defend Segamat , this time against PKR Johor chief Chua Jui Meng.

"A full minister will always have more support. The ranking is important you know," said Palanivel, in referring to Chua as an "ordinary person”.

He claimed that 30 percent of the Chinese Malaysian voters in the constituency will support Subramaniam ( left ), as he is backed by the BN logo.

Subramaniam had defeated DAP's Pak Hok Liong with a majority of 2,991 votes in 2008 in a constituency that has 46 percent Chinese voters.

MIC will contest four state seats in Johor - Gambir, Kahang, Tenggaroh, and Puteri Wangsa.

Palanivel said the party’s decision for him to contest in Cameron Highlands , a parliamentary seat long held by vice-president SK Devamany, was made by "somebody else”.

"Initially, I wanted to go to Sungai Siput , but then I opted for Cameron Highlands," he told a press conference after announcing the party’s list of candidates.

'PSM is no problem'

He also played down the challenge that Parti Sosialis Malaysia (PSM) candidate and incumbent Dr Michael Jeyakumar poses.

"PSM (is) no problem. If any other party is contesting there, then I would be worried. But PSM is not a problem," said Palanivel.

Jeyakumar ( right ) had caused a major upset when he defeated then MIC president S Samy Vellu in 2008 with a 1,821-vote majority.

Samy Vellu has since returned to Sungei Siput as the BN coordinator for the constituency, and is to help Devamany's campaign to win the seat back.

The party will contest three state seats in Perak, after giving up the Pasir Panjang and Behrang state seats to Umno.

In return, it will contest in the Buntong, Jelapang and Hutan Melintang state seats.

Palanivel was upbeat about winning the Cameron Highlands seat, in spite of squabbles between the MCA and Gerakan branches in the constituency.

"I have managed solve (the problems). So I will be getting good support," he claimed.