MIC wants effective young leaders who are willing to dedicate their lives to the people, said party president S Samy Vellu.

"They (the younger leaders) must be result-oriented," he told Bernama in an interview ahead of the party's 61st general assembly in Kuala Lumpur on Saturday.

According to Samy Vellu, who is also works minister, the general assembly will focus on preparations for the coming general election and grooming the party's next generation of leaders.

"We have to prepare the mindset of MIC members to face the onslaught of the opposition," he said.

More than 1,400 delegates are expected to attend the two-day assembly which will be held at Dewan Merdeka, Putra World Trade Centre.

Samy Vellu said the party would discuss the "action plan" to take on the opposition at the next general election.

Education and business

As for the next generation of leaders, he said: "We must build capable young leaders who can transcend racial politics, be able to recognise and appreciate the multi-racial and cultural strength of our nation."

He added that MIC had started grooming the "desired young leaders" and many of them were being "trained" to take over heavier responsibilities.

"In fact, we have a number of young and energetic elected representatives in MIC, the latest inclusion being 38-year-old K Parthiban (who won last month's Ijok by-election)," he noted.

The other issues on the agenda are education and the creation of an Indian small and micro business community.

The president said delegates would focus on the "not so encouraging" Sijil Pelajaran Malaysia (SPM) results among Indian students over the past years where only a quarter of them moved on to sit for the Sijil Tinggi Persekolahan Malaysia (STPM) examination.

"We need more Indians doing very well at the SPM and STPM levels to see a major shift in the employment and income trends," he added.