Only one branch elections - Dr Subra tells branch chairmen

Dr Subramaniam stressed that only the Interim 2009 Central Working Committee (CWC) led by him is legal, thus branch chairmen only have to file their nominations on July 10 and not on July 9 as set by Palanivel.

Dr Subramaniam, who is also Health Minister, said only the 3, 500 branches registered as of 2012 and had paid their membership fees up to 2015 were eligible to file nominations.

"Don't get confused. We only have one lawful CWC. Only the CWC chaired by me is recognised by the Registrar of Societies (RoS). We have 23 members in the CWC and have held eight meetings so far," he told reporters after chairing CWC meeting today.

On June 29, Palanivel had set July 15 and 16 for the branch nominations but yesterday the secretary-general appointed by Palanivel, Datuk S.Sothinathan, changed the date and said the branch nominations would be held on July 9.

Dr Subramaniam also said he had already met Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak several times to explain his plans to rescue the 68-year-old party out of the current crisis it is embroiled in.

According to him, the nominations for the branch chairmen would be on July 10, 11 and 12, followed by the branch elections from July 20 to 26.

Dr Subramaniam said he hope the presidential election would be settled by the end of August.

The MIC crisis erupted following differences of opinion between Palanivel and Dr Subramaniam after the RoS issued a notice on Dec 5 last year instructing the party to hold fresh elections for the three vice-presidential and 23 CWC posts.