MIC will not hesitate to ask PM to drop Palanivel from Cabinet - Saravanan

The MIC will not hesitate to urge Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak to drop former party president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel from his Cabinet post if he continues to confuse party members.

MIC vice-president Datuk M. Saravanan said this was because the natural resources and environment minister continued making announcements on party elections which only confused members, although the Registrar of Societies (RoS) had confirmed he was no longer MIC member.

He said MIC would also request the Barisan Nasional (BN) leadership and the Dewan Rakyat speaker to state their stand on Palanivel's position.

"I want to tell him (Palanivel) that MIC currently does not disturb his position as minister because it is the prerogative of the prime minister, but do not force the party to make a request that he be dropped.

"If he continues to confuse MIC members, we will meet with the prime minister after the party elections," he told reporters after handing certificates to more than 300 Indian women at the 4th Power Malaysia Convocation Ceremony here today.

On June 25, MIC acting president Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam announced that RoS had confirmed that Palanivel had lost his membership in MIC (ipso facto).

Despite this, Saravanan said Palanivel continued to make several announcements on party elections which contradicted with the election process implemented by the 2009 Interim Central Working Committee (CWC) which was given the mandate to carry out the election.

Palanivel, prior to this, announced that the party presidential re-election would be held in September, while Dr Subramaniam, on the other hand, said the election would be held next month.

The election at the MIC branch level, which is being implemented by the 2009 Interim CWC, saw contests at 3,195 branches nationwide which are said to side with Dr Subramaniam, who is also health minister.

However, Palanivel was reported as saying that 2,241 branches which supported him took part in the branch election on July 9, there was no contest in any branch.

The crisis in the 68-year-old party was triggered, following a difference in opinion between Palanivel and Dr Subramaniam after the RoS issued a notice on Dec 5, ordering the party to conduct a re-election.