MIC must resolve internal crisis quickly to continue serving the people - Dr Subramaniam

MIC need to resolve the internal crisis quickly so that the party can move forward and continue to serve the people, especially the Indian community effectively said its Deputy President Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam.

Dr Subramaniam who is also the Health Minister said the MIC which represents the Indian community in the country was currently facing various issues and the party cannot afford to waste any time with internal squabbles.

"I feel the best option to resolve the internal crisis is to follow the directive of the Registrar of Societies (RoS).If the RoS directive was followed, the issue can be resolved in two or three months but if we continue like this (MIC has filed a suit in court against the RoS), then we might not be able to serve the people for a long period.

"If the election issue is resolved, there will officially be a president, deputy president and central working committee. With the office bearers in place we can start serving the people," he told reporters after opening a new building of Sekolah Jenis Kebangsaan Tamil, Jalan Kubu, here today.

The new building, built at a cost of RM1.2 million, would serve about 880 students in the school.

The MIC internal crisis started following its election of three vice-presidents and 23 central working committee members in 2013 during the party's Annual General Meeting.

The election, after allegations of malpractice, was declared null and void by the RoS via a letter on Dec 5, 2014 and instructed MIC to hold re-elections for these posts within 90 days. On Feb 14, MIC president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel asked the RoS to withdraw all its instructions to the party, claiming that they went contrary to the Societies Act and party constitution, and threatened to take the RoS to court.

Yesterday, MIC Central Working Committee (CWC) member K. Ramalingam applied for a judicial review, seeking the RoS and its director-general, Mohammad Razin Abdullah, to retract the directives sent to the party earlier.

Irked by the action, Home Minister Datuk Seri Dr Ahmad Zahid Hamidi today said MIC leaders should attempt to arrive at a political solution to the party crisis instead of taking the matter to court.

A political problem should be resolved by political means, and if there was an agreement to go ahead with re-elections, then this should be done in a democratic manner, he said. Ahmad Zahid said MIC leaders should abide by the party constitution and rules and what they had agreed to should be translated into implementation politically.