Devamany to resign as Perak Speaker if elected MIC deputy president

MIC vice-president Datuk Seri S.K Devamany said he would resign as the Perak State Legislative Assembly Speaker if he was elected as MIC deputy president, for the betterment of MIC and the Indian community.

If elected as MIC deputy president, it would be important to fully concentrate on the party and community development agenda as well to bring back the support for the 70-year-old party which has been in the forefront as the representative of the Indian community in Malaysia as well as in Barisan Nasional (BN), he said.

"In order to focus on rebuilding the party, I must be in the mainstream (leadership) in which the deputy president's post is very crucial to rejuvenate the party to be relevant for the people and voters.

"So, if I win the deputy president's post, I will resign the Speaker's post," he told Bernama today.

On Nov 6, about 1,500 MIC delegates will decide on the key positions of the party during the party's 68th AGM to be held at the Malaysia Agro Exposition Park Serdang (MAEPS) here.

The party re-election is expected to see a heavyweight battle between Devamany and Deputy Youth and Sports Minister Datuk M. Saravanan who is also the vice president, for the number two post.

The race for the post, which fell vacant after Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam moved up the rank to replace Datuk Seri G. Palanivel as party president, will see a keen battle after a six-year lapse without contest.

"We go from house to house to campaign and I also explain the sharp vision of Dr Subramaniam... our image is slowly improving due to his performance. We have settled all the issues. The crisis period is over and with this election, we can move forward to improve the image of the party which is fundamental to transform the mindset," he explained.

So far, Devamany said the support he had received has been very positive and responsive.

The re-election is being held for all party positions after the Registrar of Societies (RoS) nullified the November 2013 elections due to irregularities and ordered the party to re-elect new office bearers before the end of Oct 2015.