KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 14 — Pakatan Rakyat (PR) has started making advances towards Datuk S. Subramaniam and several of his key men just a day after the MIC veteran was defeated in a three-cornered contest to be deputy president of the Barisan Nasional (BN) party.
Also being wooed is K.P.Samy, the Klang businessman and event manager S. P. Manivasagam, both of whom had won as Central Working Committee members in Saturday’s party polls.
The Malaysian Insider understands that while PKR is said to be interested in Subramaniam, the DAP is more interested in K.P. Samy as they see him as a credible Indian grassroots leader in Selangor with connections to the Hindraf movement.
Samy is being courted by top DAP leaders like Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran and Penang Deputy Chief Minister Prof Dr P. Ramasamy, sources said, adding that he was seen as someone who was able to fill a vacuum in the DAP’s Indian leadership in Selangor.
Samy however is waiting for Subramaniam to make the big decision — to stay in MIC, join Pakatan Rakyat or take over one of the newly set-up Indian political parties.
Hundreds of thousands of MIC members who have been loyal to Subramaniam in the past four decades are expected to leave the MIC and follow Subramaniam, whatever direction he takes.
Subramaniam is weighing whether to leave before he is sacked or wait for the outcome of the disciplinary action charges he is facing which most likely lead to his expulsion from the party.
When contacted PKR leader Tian Chua said that while the party keeps an “open door policy,” he claimed it was not keen to court any MIC leader because they may no longer be relevant in national politics.
“There are leaders who simply want to extend their shelf life in politics and might cross over from other parties where they are defeated,” Tian Chua told The Malaysian Insider.
“We are not interested in such people,” he said adding however that “those wanting to cross over must genuinely believe in and defend Pakatan policies.”
Subramaniam’s supporters are urging him to take over one of the newly registered Indian political parties.
They say the new party would be an overnight success because nearly 300,000 of his supporters are expected to leave the MIC if he quits.
MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu claims the MIC has a membership of over 600,000 but like Umno and MCA, a large percentage of their “members” voted for PR parties in Election 2008.
“Subramaniam’s people cannot claim 300,000 would leave with him from MIC because they have already fled in 2008,” a former MIC leader said when asked about the latest development.
Another option Subramaniam, 65, can take is to simply retire.
In the election two days ago, Subramaniam took 547 votes in an indication his support in the MIC has remained intact over the years while that of the president’s had eroded significantly after the third contender Datuk S. Sothinathan took 280 votes.
Samy Vellu’s man Datuk G. Palanivel won by only 82 votes compared with his 495 majority in 2006.
Combined, a total of 827 of the 1,450 delegates voted against the president’s choice.
MIC sources say the rise of the anti-Samy Vellu faction is the real reason why action is being taken against Subramaniam who has become a serious threat to Samy Vellu and his man, Palanivel.
“Samy Vellu wants to continue for a good many years and by sacking Subramaniam he is removing his most direct threat to power,” an MIC insider said.
“Palanivel is a Yes-man and unlikely to threaten the party leader in any significant way,” the sources said. “But Subramaniam is a clear and present danger for both Samy Vellu and Palanivel.”
The fight ahead might well overshadow the just concluded election battle.
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