MIC Sec Gen, S. Murugesan resigns

Calling on the MIC to rejuvenate and renew itself, secretary-general Datuk S. Murugesan quit his post this morning, with immediate effect.

His resignation letter was submitted to the party headquarters about 11.30am.

About an hour later, party president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel appointed A. Sakhtivel, 43, as secretary-general.

Murugesan's move to quit the post comes on the heels of his failure to wrest the Kota Raja parliamentary seat for Barisan Nasional in the 13th General Election (GE13) on May 5.

However, the 46-year-old lawyer said he would continue to serve the party in his capacity as a Central Working Committee (CWC) member and Shah Alam branch chairman.

"I had, before the general election, informed the (party) president of my intention to resign as secretary-general, in the event I lost the election.

"I have given the president a few days to find a suitable successor," he said in a statement here today.

Palanivel appointed Murugesan as secretary-general in 2011.

"I have given my best (to the party) as secretary-general to move the party forward and be more relevant to the younger generation.

"However, I believe the time has come for me to step down and allow others to continue with the process of rebuilding the party under Palanivel," he said.

Murugesan thanked Palanivel for giving him the opportunity to serve as secretary-general.

Murugesan lost to PAS incumbent Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud who won with a 29,395-vote majority for the Kota Raja parliamentary seat.