Poll: No clear favourite for Samy's successor

There is no MIC leader who is seen by Malaysiakini readers as the clear frontrunner to replace long-time party president S Samy Vellu.

Of 5,109 readers who participated in the one-day Malaysiakini poll, former deputy president S Subramaniam bagged 22.5 percent of the votes.

Subramanian, a bitter rival turned ally of the MIC supremo, got the highest votes among the five individuals named in the survey.

He was trailed by SK Devamany, the deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department who was hailed by some as a hero for his outburst in Parliament last December for supporting the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

Devasamy polled 11 percent, while the sole MIC cabinet minister, Dr S Subramaniam (no relations to his namesake) pulled in 10.5 percent.

Surprisingly, deputy president G Palanivel - who not too long ago was considered the most likely successor to Samy - got a miserable 3.1 percent while information chief M Saravanan picked up 2.5 percent.

However, the bulk of the votes, 50.4 percent, went to no one in particular - a total of 2,544 Malaysiakini readers said they did not favour any of the individuals mentioned.

Meanwhile, almost 90 percent wanted Samy, who has helmed the party for almost three decades, to quit "immediately".

As the party kicks off its one-day annual congress tomorrow, the embattled MIC president has vowed that he would stay on for another term.

According to the survey, a majority of Malaysiakini readers - about 70 percent - believed that MIC should shed its race-based politics, while 42.5 percent wanted MIC to quit BN and join the opposition Pakatan Rakyat.

Malaysiakini's next poll is on Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi's announcement on handing power to deputy premier Najib Razak. The results will be revealed on Monday.