New wind blowing through MIC under Palanivel

MIC's 65th general assembly being held tomorrow will see a breath of fresh air as it will be presided over by greenhorn party leader G Palanivel, who has waited patiently for the last four years for his turn.Palanivel, who took over the party leadership from stalwart S Samy Vellu last December, has vowed to recapture the backing of the Indian community for BN.

This is also the first time the party - that boasts of being the voice of the ethnic minority which forms eight percent, or 2.24 million, of the Malaysian population - will be meeting without the presence of Samy Vellu who held power for more than three decades.Palanivel  was handpicked to take the lead as the party president after the tumultuous years of Samy Vellu's leadership. The party, at one point, became divided and Samy Vellu had to be forced out for many were dissatisfied with his iron grip on the leadership.

One thing apparent during Samy Vellu's leadership was that dissent was silenced, and everyone had to conform to one voice - that of Samy - or be expelled.But under Palanivel a new wind is blowing through the MIC and there is free speech - at a reasonable level - and dissent is allowed.To begin with, Palanivel had brought back sacked members, most of whom had been kicked out for criticising Samy Vellu, into the party and reinstated them to their old position in a bid to close ranks.Since then he has also encouraged cooperation with other disenfranchised Indian-based parties, namely MIUP and IPF, in order to prevent a split in their vote.

Rare unity in party's fold

“He has brought about a lot of changes,” said central working committee (CWC) member Madhu Marimuthu, a key ally of Palanivel.“He is reaching out to everyone and extended privileges to the branches like no other president has in the past. For example, state party leaders were all appointed in the past but now he let's the grassroots elect their leaders,” said Madhu, adding that the move helped “democratise” the party.

The amnesty, for one, has brought better unity, as members, delegates and leaders have all closed ranks behind Palanivel and this is reflected in the buzz on the party's grapevine. But is it all rosy when discontent continue to ferment? Just months back, a proxy fight had broken out when Palanivel's critics lashed out against the amnesty move, claiming that it was an attempt to eliminate any competition from his deputy, Dr S Subramaniam .

Palanivel's decision to postpone all party polls until after the general election has also caused some concern, as the party constitution does not allow for the postponement of the presidential election. Elections for all other posts are allowed to be postponed under the party rules.However, both leaders have denied a rift and are determined to portray a united front to show Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak that the MIC is now ready to reclaim its place as the face of the Indian community.

In preparation for the general assembly, which is commencing at the Putrajaya International Convention Centre today with the youth and women's wing assemblies, Palanivel told reporters yesterday that his keynote address will be a crucial one.He stressed that it will encompass the need for a greater endorsement of the minority community in the event that the general election is called in the near future. However, he shied away from revealing any further details. This time, the general assembly will see Najib addressing not just delegates, but more than 4,000 branch chiefs, to underline the importance of reaching out and delivering a holistic approach as well as to resolve major issues that the party is grappling with.

Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/171384