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Saturday, 22 May 2010

Two more join anti-Samy Vellu fray


Opposition to Samy Vellu’s retirement plan has gained momentum, with two more party leaders lending their voices to the call. — file pic


KUALA LUMPUR, May 21 — Two more MIC leaders have come out to openly call for Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s early resignation, adding to the mounting pressure on the embattled party president to step down ahead of his plan to quit next year.

The two leaders, KP Samy and G. Kumar Aman, both Central Working Committee (CWC) members, said an extraordinary general meeting should be held to allow the party’s 3,200 delegates decide on the issue.

“I see no value for the Indian society if Samy Vellu continues as party president,” Samy told a press conference today.

Kumar Aman, who attended the same press conference, concurred.

The duo said they were in no way indebted to Samy Vellu and were concerned about the future of MIC.

They added that the party president, who has held fast to his post for over 30 years, had to accept that it was time for him to call it a day.

Samy Vellu, they added, should resign during the party’s annual general meeting this July 10.

The two are at the helm of a budding movement to remove Samy Vellu, which came to light recently when MIC Youth deputy chief V. Mugilan openly called for the president to resign by this Dec 31.

His statement came after Samy Vellu announced on Sunday that he would quit by September next year, ahead of the expiration of his term in May 2012.

The announcement had come as a surprise as many leaders, including those in other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties, had assumed the president would leave during the party’s AGM in July.

Samy Vellu had said he had plans to “rearrange” the party and rid it of those who had the intention to “destroy” MIC.

Mugilan and MIC Petaling Jaya South chief, V. Subramaniam, also known as Bharat Maniam, were both sacked after speaking out against Samy Vellu.

In Bharat Maniam’s case, the veteran MIC leader was sacked a week ago after sending an SMS to Samy Vellu, lobbying to be a Senator.

Mugilan was sacked yesterday for asking Samy Vellu’s earlier retirement.

He is expected to appeal his expulsion to the CWC on Monday.

It is unlikely, however, that Samy Vellu will mete out similar punishments to Samy and Kumar Aman.

With the two joining the anti-Samy Vellu bandwagon, more leaders in the party are expected to come forward to voice similar sentiments.

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