MIC veteran leader M Muthupalaniappan today announced that he would contest for the party presidency next March.

"I am receiving overwhelming support and good words from MIC and the Indian community regarding this," he told Malaysiakini .

muthupalaniappan Yesterday, the former MIC vice-president had revealed his intention of taking on his former ally S Samy Vellu who has held the top post for the past three decades.

According to Muthupalaniappan, he decided to contest after taking into consideration the interest of the party and the socio-economic condition of the Indian community in this country.

"I shall and will bring change to MIC and to the community," he pledged.

Stressing on the importance of consolidating ranks and bringing the community together, the 68-year-old Seremban-based lawyer said: "Unity is the key to success."

Muthupalaniappan also vowed to re-admit expelled MIC leaders and members as well as to reinstate all the closed branches.

This is the meaning of a re-branding exercise, he said, adding that he would be able to bring the different camps together.

Muthupalaniappan was first elected to the MIC central working committee in 1979. The same year, he was appointed Negeri Sembilan MIC chief and party Youth head.

He was made senator in 1980 and two years later, won the Si Rusa state assembly seat and was appointed to the Negeri Sembilan state executive council.

He contested the party vice-presidency in 1987 and 1991 but lost both bids.

Muthupalaniappan eventually landed a veep seat in 1997 but failed to retain the post at the party's 2000 and 2006 elections.

'Samy Vellu should be challenged'

Yesterday, Bernama reported that Muthupalaniappan's intention of contesting the top post lands a blow to Samy Vellu's claim that MIC is 'free from any political trouble'.

Muthupalaniappan had told the national news agency that he had met members and grassroots leaders over the past two weeks and their "feedback has been encouraging."

samy vellu exclusive on tamil schools 080708 05 "I feel that Samy Vellu should be challenged in the interest of MIC, the Barisan Nasional and the Malaysian Indian community," he said.

Next March, MIC would hold its presidential election while the election of deputy president, three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee (CWC) seats would be held in September.

Samy Vellu has announced that he would defend the party top post and was initially speculated to win the post uncontested.

However, Muthupalaniappan's bid for the top post would see him throw a spanner in the works if he manages to garner nominations from 50 branches.

The party constitution requires a presidential candidate to obtain at least 50 nominations from branches before he/she is allowed to contest for the top post.

Each nomination must be proposed by a branch office-bearer and seconded by five other branch office-bearers.

The branch office-bearers would cast their ballots to pick the MIC president, unlike for other national positions which would be decided by some 1,500 delegates to the party's general assembly.

Battle for number two

Another Bernama report focused on the battle for the deputy presidency with several leaders staking their claim to the MIC number two post.

Veteran leader and party treasurer-general M Mahalingam was of the opinion that some leaders are eyeing the deputy president's post with the view of becoming the next MIC chief.

"But these leaders should realise that firstly, they must have good grassroots support and with good grassroots support, I mean, support from the young and old," he was quoted as saying.

The seasoned politician surmised that only with the support of a good blend of young and old guards, can the elected deputy president fill in the shoes of Samy Vellu who became acting president in 1979 following the death of V Manickavasagam and president in 1981.

The likely candidates for deputy president are former party number two S Subramaniam, incumbent G Palanivel, vice-president S Sothinathan and secretary-general and Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam.

saravanan kl draft plan 220808 02 However, the report said that party observers do not discount 'rising star' M Saravanan from entering the fray, based on positive reviews received by the relatively young deputy minister.

"We also cannot rule out younger leaders in the ranks. They are essential to pull in the younger generation's support.

"I would not name any because they might then fall out of favour with Samy Vellu just because I named them... I do not want to disrupt their chances," Muthupalaniappan was quoted as saying in this article.

Tamil Nesan - which is owned by Samy Vellu - also featured an article today questioning if Saravanan would be gunning for the number two post.

While names of heavyweights mentioned for the deputy presidency, the race for the party's three vice-president seats is also expected to be hard-fought.

Contenders speculated among party circles for the race include deputy minister S Devamany, incumbent S Veerasingham and Negeri Sembilan MIC chief T Rajagopalu.

However, a party observer told Bernama that the three names could just be the tip of the iceberg as MIC was now 'undergoing a deafening silence before the big fight'.