MIC president S Samy Vellu is confident the party would remain intact, even after he hands over its leadership to his deputy, G Palanivel, come January.

He dismissed talks that the party would plunge into chaos and infighting after he stepped down.

   

“Palanivel will be able to steer the party well,” the former works minister said of his former press secretary when asked during a live Tamil talk show over RTM today.

   

Samy Vellu said this when asked if his successor would be able to hold the party together when he was no longer president.

It was reported that many MIC leaders and members were worried that without Samy Vellu’s tough and disciplined leadership, the party would disintegrate and disappear from the political scene.

Samy Vellu also expressed “deep concern and uneasiness” over the “communal politics” being practised by certain groups within the Indian community.

He said their “exclusiveness mentality” of identifying themselves more with their own ethnic groups such as Tamils, Malayalis, Telegus and Sikhs, rather than as Indians, would further divide the community.

“If this situation continues, the Indian community will be at the losing end, both politically and economically,” he said.

His remarks appeared to be aimed at communal-minded Indian leaders from the various ethnic groups within the community who have, over the past several months, held their own large gatherings.

Samy Vellu said the Indian community stood a better chance of securing their slice of the country’s economic pie if it remained as a single entity.

- Bernama