Resistance against the status quo is set to grow in MIC as more central working committee (CWC) members may be coming forward to urge for the resignation of party strongman S Samy Vellu.

A senior CWC member told Malaysiakini today that he and another senior fellow committee member will be calling a press conference tomorrow to speak up against the party president.

kp samy interview 300108 smug The latest duo's major discontent was the way ex-CWC members - KP Samy (right) and G Kumar Amaan - were punished with expulsion for backing earlier calls for Samy Vellu's resignation.

"It is about time that we do something [...] there is no point in lying low anymore," he said, requesting anonymity until tomorrow's press conference where he claimed two more members are expected to join in.

"If everyone finds out that I'm now with them (the two axed members) and if we reveal everything now, everyone in the CWC will be sacked," he claimed.

Samy Vellu, who had held a death grip on the party's presidency for the past 31 years, was challenged last week to quit from his post for the betterment of the community and the party.

The 74-year-old veteran politician had earlier announced that he would only step down from his post before the next party polls scheduled for May 2012.

‘Sackings are ridiculous'

Last Thursday, MIC Youth Deputy Chief V Mugilan fired the first salvo against Samy Vellu, hinting that with the latter's continued presence in MIC might destroy the party altogether.

Mugilan was then sacked by Samy Vellu on Friday for "acting in a manner that is detrimental to the party". KP Samy and G Kumar Amaan, who backed Mugilan's call on Saturday, were given their marching orders on Monday.

Mugilan has since launched Gerakan Anti-Samy (GAS) which hopes to hold a major rally at the Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur on Sunday.

NONE Prior to the sacking of Mugilan, Petaling Jaya MIC division chair V Subramaniam, better known as Bharat Maniam (left) , was booted out for requesting the president to nominate him as a senator .

"This string of sackings is ridiculous. People are being sacked just for saying things that are allegedly against party interest," complained the CWC member who spoke to Malaysiakini today.

If their criticisms were "detrimental to the congress" as accused by Samy Vellu, what about his son S Vel Paari's statement that Umno was the cause of BN losing support of the Indians during the 2008 general election, he asked.

GAS building up

"In what capacity is Vel Paari giving statements to the press? This has not been clarified and the media report stated that he was speaking as a CWC member, but the matter was not at all discussed at MIC CWC meetings," he added.

He was referring to a Free Malaysia Today report yesterday which quoted Vel Paari as saying that Umno had used "political assassins" to divide the MIC.

Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin has since, branded Vel Paari "insolent" and Malay language daily Utusan Malaysia duly reported that Umno factions were piling on pressure for the latter to apologise. vel paari

Vel Paari (right) when contacted refused to comment on the matter.

"If this is the case, then disciplinary action should be taken against Vel Paari because he has acted in a way that is detrimental to the party," said the CWC member.

Malaysiakini had earlier reported that at least 18 of the elected 23 CWC members are peeved with Samy Vellu for appointing his son to the CWC without their knowledge.

Meanwhile, another CWC source said the plan was to "build enough momentum" to woo people to the GAS gathering on Sunday.

"I wouldn't say that Samy Vellu has done nothing, but it is time that he steps down to allow others to do what they can to salvage the party from total doom.

"Maybe he (the future president) would be able to undertake the reforms that are necessary for MIC to retain its position as the defenders of the Indian community," he said.

Vadiveloo defends Samy

Commenting on the recent spate of sackings by Samy, former MIC secretary-general and disciplinary committee chairperson G Vadiveloo explained that "...if the facts are established, it is clear that an inquiry is not necessary".

NONE He said that in all the recent expulsion cases, it was obvious that "they were demanding" the president act in accordance to their will whether it a request for senatorship or his (the president's) resignation.

"Criticisms are different from demands, (their calls) were for the resignation of the president and they were questioning him. (They were) not criticising him," he explained.

"Why was Mahathir (Mohamad) [ right ] expelled by Tunku (Abdul Rahman)? It was because Mahathir asked Tunku to resign.

"A party president can volunteer to resign but he cannot be forced to go [...] it is at his discretion whether to leave before his term expiry date," he said.

Moreover, he said that the nature of the demands could amount to criminal intimidation.

The man at the centre of the storm himself, Samy Vellu, left for a trip to India this morning and could not be contacted for comments.