No end in sight for MIC conflict

With the two rival MIC factions having chosen their respective presidents, the internal strife engulfing the party looks all set to be a protracted affair.

Dr S Subramaniam won the top party post for the 2013-2016 term unopposed during the presidential nomination last Friday. Eleven days earlier, on Aug 9, G Palanivel was declared head honcho during a separate presidential nomination held by his faction.

Both factions, say political analysts, have justified their actions, and while the Subramaniam-led faction has the backing of the Registrar of Societies (ROS), the other group claims its proceedings are in line with the Societies Act 1966.

The analysts also feel that recourse to the courts appear to be the only means to resolve the current dispute, adding that supporters of both factions should leave it to the court to decide who the rightful president is.

The MIC crisis was triggered after Palanivel and Subramaniam developed differences of opinion over a notice issued by the ROS last Dec 5 directing the party to hold fresh elections. The ROS had also declared the MIC's 2009 central working committee (CWC) as the valid interim CWC, but only for the purpose of conducting new elections.

The crisis escalated when ROS director-general Mohammad Razin Abdullah, in a letter dated June 25, said that Palanivel was no longer an MIC member as per Article 91 of the MIC constitution.

The article stipulates that members who resort to court action without first referring to the CWC will cease to be a member of the party.

(On Feb 24, Palanivel and three others filed judicial review proceedings to quash the ROS directive to the MIC to hold fresh elections. Their application was rejected by the High Court here on June 15, while their appeal against the court ruling was dismissed by the Court of Appeal on July 13. They have now filed an appeal in the Federal Court.)

Someone must go to court

Universiti Sains Malaysia lecturer Asso Prof Sivamurugan Pandian felt that one of the factions may have to go to court to challenge the other faction's presidential nomination and election.

His view was echoed by MIC veteran leader K Vijayanathan, who said: "Somebody must go to the court, unless there is intervention by a neutral party which can mediate and put some sense into them. We can't have two presidents running the party."

Sivamurugan said the conflict between the two factions was likely to continue even after fresh party elections have been conducted due to the presence of two presidents.

"But it's clear that ROS will only recognise one president, that is Subramaniam," he told Bernama recently.

Vijayanathan, who was a CWC member during the 1970s and is now election committee chairperson for the Palanivel camp, said the former natural resources and environment minister was now awaiting the Federal Court's decision on the appeal against the ROS directive to the party to hold fresh elections.

"We've to see what the highest court in Malaysia has to say about ROS issuing such a notice," he said.

Vijayanathan, who is a lawyer by profession, said both factions had flouted the MIC constitution by holding separate presidential nominations and elections.

"The constitution doesn't provide for two presidential elections," he said.

ROS no right to interfere

He also insisted that challenging the ROS directive did not necessarily warrant the termination of party membership of those who took the matter to court.

He agreed, however, that the much-debated Article 91 of the MIC constitution made it clear that internal disputes should be settled within the party and not be taken to court.

"However, my personal view is that the ROS directive runs counter to Section 18B and 18C of the Societies Act 1966 which, when interpreted, states that the ROS has no right to interfere in a political party's internal affairs," explained Vijayanathan.

Section 18B refers to the circumstances under which no election in any political party can be declared invalid, while 18C states that any decision made by a party is final and conclusive and that "such decision shall not be challenged, appealed against, reviewed, quashed or called in question in any court on any ground, and no court shall have jurisdiction to entertain or determine any suit, application, question or proceeding on any ground regarding the validity of such decision".

"It is clear from these provisions under the Societies Act that the ROS cannot issue a directive to MIC to hold fresh elections," said Vijayanathan.

He, however, added that the best way to end the turmoil was for the leaders of both factions to "lay down their arms", resolve the various issues and work at uniting the Indian community.

"Do they want to see a party that is fractured for years to come or do they want a party that is strong? We have lost one cabinet post and if we continue like this, the MIC may lose the sole cabinet post it now has," he warned.

Never ending saga

Vijayanathan also pointed out that the presence of two presidents was creating a great deal of confusion among the party's branch chairmen throughout the country, as most of them have no issues with either Subramaniam or Palanivel.

He also said that the current feud was nothing new as far as the party was concerned as the MIC had a chequered history of similar rivalry between its top two leaders.

"It has been happening since the time the party was established. The first president, John Aloysius Thivy, had problems with Budh Singh in the 1940s. Then when Budh Singh became president, he had some issues with KL Devaser.

"And once Devaser became president, he had problems with VT Sambanthan who, in turn, had problems with V Manikavasagam. He (Manikavasagam) had issues with S Samy Vellu who, as we all know very well, later didn't get along with his deputy S Subramaniam," he related.

Vijayanathan opined that the party's never-ending saga of rivalry could be attributed to the inability of the top leadership to reach a compromise.

Source: Bernama

PM confirms wreckage from MH370

MH370 Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak has confirmed the wreckage found on the South Indian island of Reunion is that of MH370.

"Today, 515 days since the plane disappeared, it is with a heavy heart that I must tell you that an international team of experts have conclusively confirmed that the aircraft debris found on Reunion Island is indeed from MH370.

"We now have physical evidence as I announced last year that flight MH370 tragically ended in the Southern Indian Ocean," he said.

Najib hoped the confirmation would give closure to the families of those who perished in the tragic accident.

"It is hoped that this confirmation no matter how tragic and painful will at least bring certainty to the families and loved ones of the 239 people on board MH370.

"They have our deepest sympathy and prayers," the premier said, adding that the nation mourned with them.

He then assured that Malaysia would do all it can to find out the truth behind the tragedy.

He also thanked all those involved in the search.

Malaysia Airlines also extended its sympathy to the families of the passengers and crew on board the ill- fated flight.

The national airline hoped more parts of the plane can be found to help solve the mystery of the Boeing 777's disappearance.

MH370 dissappeared while flying from Kuala Lumpur to Beijing in the early hours of March 8, 2014.

The plane made a turn back shortly after flying over the east coast, and flew past Penang before disappearing from radar.

A frantic search for the flight initially focused on the South China Sea, before satellite data analysis suggested that the plane crashed in the South Indian Ocean.

A multi-nation search commenced off the western coasts of Australia, but had yet to find anything.

The wreckage found on Reunion is the first solid piece of evidence proving that MH370 did indeed crash in the South Indian Ocean.

Soon after Najib's announcement, French prosecutor Serge Mackowiak confirmed that the wing fragment discovered on the remote island was from a Boeing 777.

However, he stopped short of confirming the flaperon was from MH370, and only said initial test results showed there were "very strong indications" the debris was from the plane.

Mackowiak said confirmation would only come after further tests on the fragment were carried out starting Thursday.


Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/307504

MACC: RM2.6b a donation, not 1MDB funds

The Malaysian Anti-Corruption Commission (MACC) has found that the RM2.6 billion purportedly deposited into Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's personal banks accounts came from donation.

"The investigation report related to the RM2.6 billion has been referred to the attorney-general.

"Investigations have found the RM2.6 billion which was allegedly deposited into the prime minister's accounts is the contribution of donors and not from 1MDB funds," said the commission in a statement.

MACC's statement comes amidst hints by BN leaders in recent days that the RM2.6 billion might have been donations.

BN strategic communications director Abdul Rahman Dahlan had said that Najib, as Umno president, is allowed by the Umno constitution to act as atrustee for the party.

Following this, Umno supreme council member Azalina Othman said there was nothing wrong with political parties receiving foreign funding.

Najib himself spoke about political funding as well, pledging to disclose Umno's source of funding if DAP did the same.

Three companies in the clear?

Earlier today, PKR secretary-general Rafizi Ramli predicted that Putrajaya might claim that the RM2.6 billion was funded by well-heeled Middle Eastern figures.

Questions about Najib's bank accounts arose from the Wall Street Journal report on July 3.

Quoting Malaysian investigators, WSJ said that RM2.6 billion was traced to Najib's private accounts which have since been closed.

The report claimed that US$681 million was transferred into Najib's bank accounts in two tranches in March 2013, two months before the general election.

The money originated from a Tanore Finance, incorporated in the British Virgin Islands.

The WSJ said another three tranches involving RM42 million were transferred from SRC International into Najib's accounts.

SRC International is owned by the Finance Ministry, which Najib heads.





Source :http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/307196

Former Indian president A P J Kalam dies aged 83

NEW DELHI: India’s former president and top scientist A. P. J. Kalam, who played a lead role in the country’s nuclear weapons tests, died on Monday, a hospital official said. He was 83.

Kalam collapsed during a lecture at a management institute in the northeastern Indian city of Shillong, and was declared dead on arrival by doctors at Bethany hospital.

“We tried to revive him but couldn’t,” John Sailo, the hospital medical superintendent told AFP, without giving further details about the cause of his death.

India declared seven days of national mourning for Avul Pakir Jainulabdeen Abdul Kalam, who served as India’s 11th president between 2002 and 2007, as is standard after the death of a former leader.

His body will be flown to New Delhi on Tuesday, local media reported.

India’s Prime Minister Narendra Modi plaid tribute to Kalam, who was elected to the top post during the previous Bharatiya Janata Party rule, saying he had “always marvelled at his intellect, learnt so much from him”.

“India mourns the loss of a great scientist, a wonderful president and above all an inspiring individual,” his office said in a statement.

An acclaimed scientist and author, Kalam was known as the “people’s president” during his time in office and continued to reach out to young people with his scientific lectures after leaving office.

Home minister Rajnath Singh described him as “an inspiration to an entire generation” in a post on Twitter.

Born to a poor family of boatman in Rameswaram, a coastal town in southern Tamil Nadu state on October 15, 1931, Kalam sold newspapers as a child to help his family financially.

He rose through the ranks to become a top scientist at India’s defence research organisation, where he worked for four decades helping to develop the country’s home grown weapon’s programme, earning him the moniker “India’s missile man”.

He also played a pivotal role in India’s nuclear weapons tests in 1998.

After his presidential term, Kalam returned to academics and regularly delivered lectures at top Indian universities. He also published a best seller autobiography entitled “Wings of fire” in 1999.

Source– AFP

MIC crisis: What injunction, asks Palanivel

KUALA LUMPUR, July 8 — Datuk Seri G. Palanivel has refused to accept a High Court injunction stopping him from carrying out duties as MIC president until he receives a letter from the court.

“I have not been served with any court order or any court document,” he said, adding that he was aware of the injunction obtained against him.

Palanivel said even if he received any court papers, it would not mean he would take it lying down.
“If and when the court papers are served on me, I will obtain legal advice and deal with the matter accordingly,” he said in a statement yesterday.

The High Court granted an injunction on Monday after Ampang Jaya MIC branch chairman Datuk N. Muneandy filed an application on Friday with the consent of the party’s 2009 interim Central Working Committee (CWC).

The order also stops Palanivel from holding gatherings in the party and from approving resolutions on behalf of MIC.

MIC communication and public relations bureau head Datuk Seri S. Vell Paari said Muneandy’s lawyers had been trying to hand over the court documents to Palanivel since yesterday morning.

“They went to his house, his car was there but apparently he was not in, so a family member came out of the house and collected the documents,” he said.

“She identified herself as Palanivel’s wife’s sister.”


Vell Paari said Muneandy’s lawyers received a call from a legal firm representing Palanivel at about 3pm and asked that the documents be sent to their office.



Source : http://www.themalaymailonline.com/malaysia/article/mic-crisis-what-injunction-asks-palanivel

Palanivel's 'CWC' sets its own polls dates

The MIC faction led by G Palanivel has announced their own central working committee (CWC) election dates, slated for September.

This was decided after his committee held a meeting today.

Another faction led by Dr S Subramaniam had announced earlier that the CWC election would be completed by October.

For now, it would appear that MIC is headed towards having two separate annual general meetings and two elections.

Subramaniam claimed that the Registrar of Societies had recognised him as the acting president of MIC and that Palanivel was no longer a party member.

However, Palanivel told reporters today that Subramaniam had taken the letter out of context, but did not elaborate on the matter.

Previously, Palanivel had claimed that the CWC had resolved to suspend Subramaniam's party membership for a year.

MIC's ongoing leadership crisis can be traced back to December last year, when the ROS nulified the results of the 2013 CWC election and ordering fresh elections.

Following this, Palanivel had took the ROS to court to challenge the ROS decision. Subramaniam's faction claimed that Palanivel had automatically ceased to be a party member as Article 91 of the MIC constitution forbids any member from taking party matters to court.


Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/303488

Palanivel calls Subra chicken-hearted

Insisting once again that he is the president of MIC, G Palanivel has launched a broadside on his deputy Dr S Subramaniam, who claims to be the acting number one.

Palanivel also accused Subramaniam of not having the gumption to face him in the party elections.

"Let me make it absolutely clear that I am the president of MIC and there shall be no doubt whatsoever on this.

"I have been a member of MIC since I was 18 years old and there is no way I am going to allow Subramaniam, who is so scared to face me in the elections, to unilaterally and unlawfully claim that I am no longer a member of MIC," he said in a media statement.

Palanivel (photo) also claimed that Subramaniam had "misled" the public to think that the Registrar of Societies (ROS) has recognised that he (Palanivel) is no longer an MIC member as per Article 91 of the MIC constitution and that RoS has attached the list of office bearers of the alleged 2009 Interim Central Working Committee (CWC) of MIC.
 
"From the reading of the letter, it is clear that the letter from ROS  has been taken out of context.

"ROS has merely noted the wrong contents of the letter dated June 17, 2015 sent by Subramaniam and his group to RoS.

"ROS has not made any determination on its own on the application of Article 91 of the MIC constitution. ROS knows that it has no such jurisdiction to interpret the MIC constitution," Palanivel added.

Will take all necessary action

Palanivel also believes that the ROS had attached the list of the alleged office bearers of the 2009 interim CWC purely based on the letter from Subramaniam to the RoS.

“It was not ROS' own conduct of determining who are the lawful office bearers, which is beyond its jurisdiction.

He added that the ROS should not have acknowledged unilaterally whatever Subramaniam and his group had written to them.

“More so when I had on June 16, 2015 written to the ROS immediately to put ROS on notice of the illegality of the notice and the meeting held by Subra on June 16.

Palanivel said he would take “all necessary action” against Subramaniam and, if necessary, also against the ROS to protect his and the party's interests.

“I will not allow third parties to dictate on the internal affairs of MIC. I will not allow people like Subramaniam and his group to pawn MIC's affairs to third parties for their own political agenda,” he said.

The natural resources and environment minister said he had spoken to Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak (photo) and had given his proposals for the elections of the party to be conducted.

“I am awaiting the response of the prime minister who I believe was receptive of my proposals for an amicable resolution,” he said.

Urging party members and leaders not to be disheartened with the current situation, Palanivel also assured them that he was taking all necessary action to undo all the “illegal things” being done by Subramaniam and his group.

“With the overwhelming support of all the members and leaders of MIC who are behind me, we will surely come out of this situation with the integrity and dignity of the party intact,” he said.

The ROS had said that Palanivel was no longer a member of MIC and that Subramaniam is the party's new acting president.

This was stated in a letter from registrar Muhammad Razin Abdullah to the party's CWC that was elected in 2009, which RoS recognises as the party's rightful office-bearers.

The letter also states that Subramaniam has the mandate to lead the CWC in conducting a re-election of the party leadership.


Source : http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/303162