MIC deputy president S Subramaniam has told party members not to "cause rifts" by publicly issuing statements against each other.

 

This follows Kepong MIC branch chaiperson S Vell Paari's open criticism of party president G Palanivel's performance as natural resources and environment minister yesterday.

 

"I think there must be some decorum observed," Subramaniam said, refusing to directly reply to Vell Paari's stinging criticism of Palanivel ( left ).

 

However, he admitted that there "many areas of unhappiness" for some members in the party but urged that those opinions be voiced internally.

 

"Even though giving an opinion is a democratic right, they should not hurt other people's feelings," he said, without making specific references to anyone.

 

"Otherwise, the party will have rifts. They should work to stay united within the party," he added.

 

In a strongly worded statement yesterday, Vell Paari, the son of former MIC supremo S Samy Vellu, said that Palanivel had "vanished" from fulfilling his duties as minister following the recent spate of haze in the country.

 

Palanivel's leadership of the party had been criticised even before the general elections, including by his predecessor, Samy Vellu.

 

Palanivel narrowly scraped through to win the Cameron Highlands parliamentary seat in the elections and went on to become a cabinet minister.