Is the proposed formation of MIC Baru a veiled attempt to tarnish MIC deputy president S Subramaniam's reputation?

This is the question posed by a veteran political observer.

"The new party could be part of a strategy to end Subramaniam's political career for good," said the observer, who declined to be named.

On Saturday, it was announced that some 50,000-100,000 disgruntled MIC members - who are now on the 'outside' due to the dissolving of branches and terminations - have decided to form the new party.

The group also claimed that they were not issued 'B' forms by the party headquarters to enable them to conduct their branch meetings.

According to them, the party will serve as a platform for those who are still supportive of the Barisan Nasional (BN) government but do not want to join other parties in the coalition.

MIC Baru's chief sponsor P Ganapathy also denied that the party is linked to Subramaniam, who later confirmed this.

It is an open secret that ties between party president S Samy Vellu and his long-term deputy have been strained for a long time.

It took a turn for the worse when Samy Vellu, who is also works minister, publicly endorsed vice-president G Palanivel who will be contesting against Subramaniam in the coming party elections.

Subramaniam has vowed to defend his post and repeatedly ruled out any possibilities of going for broke and taking on the president.

Registration problems

Meanwhile, the observer noted that while the focus now is on whether the disgruntled deputy president had formulated the blueprint for the new party, this, he added, could be a case of 'barking up the wrong tree'.

"May be it is the rival camp that is behind it to create the impression that Subramaniam ( left ) is trying to break up MIC thus angering the delegates," he said.

According to him, the new entity could also face problems with registering its new name and those behind it should be aware of this.

"Unlike Umno in1987, MIC has not been 'struck off' the list by the ROS (Registrar of Societies). So to use the same name would be a problem," he stressed.

In 1987, after Umno was declared illegal by the Kuala Lumpur High Court, former premier and party president Dr Mahathir Mohamad opened a new party called Umno Baru.

On the same note, the observer said Subramaniam could be behind the set-up himself since the 'B' form issue has been a long standing problem in his camp.

His supporters have claimed that the forms are deliberately not issued by the headquarters in order to limit the representation of their delegates at the elections.

When contacted, Subramaniam said he is currently abroad and will comment on the matter upon his return.

MIC will not be shaken

Last week, a Tamil daily claimed that 100 of MIC's 4,300 branches were not issued with the 'B' forms and described this as politically motivated.

This was later refuted by party secretary-general S Sothinathan ( left ), who said that only 10 branches had not received the forms.

Unfazed by the formation of the new party, MIC vice-president S Veerasingam said his party will not be weakened or split by this latest development.

"We (MIC) will continue to serve the Indian community. Our party remains strong even if anyone leaves.

"Whoever wants to serve society and the party can remain but we cannot stop those who want to form a new party," he was quoted as saying by Bernama.

However, he remained tightlipped when asked if the new party is linked to Subramaniam.

IPF ready to cooperate

In a related development, the Indian Progressive Front (IPF) - another MIC splinter party - announced its readiness to collaborate with MIC Baru.

Its president MG Pandithan ( right ) was quoted as saying that the cooperation was vital to develop the Indian community, which, he claimed, MIC had failed to do.

He added that MIC has also been a stumbling block for his party to join BN since its formation 17 years ago.

"The aim of my struggle has been misunderstood to the point where Samy Vellu threw me out with 60,000 supporters and closed down 600 MIC branches," said the former MIC leader.

Pandithan said the formation of MIC Baru was similar to what had happened to IPF which was accused of practicing caste-based politics.

According to him, any faction that voices its protest in MIC will be accused of doing something detrimental to the party although their intentions are good.

"I was accused of practicisng caste politics and IPF is labelled as a caste-based party although I am championing the rights of the Indian working class.

"Every time the MIC elections come around, Samy Vellu is bound to raise the caste issue," he added.

With so many players and new developments in the game, the observer said it would be wise to "cling on to your seats" as this year's MIC elections is shaping out to be an exhilarating ride.