COMMENT If everything goes as planned, MIC president S Samy Vellu will hand over the reins to his deputy G Palanivel in January. But there could be one issue which might trigger a crisis – who should be the sole cabinet minister to represent the party?
Currently, that honour is with vice-president Dr S Subramaniam.
However, if MIC is to be rebuilt and repositioned to face the next general election, then it is clear that the incoming president should also be made a cabinet minister to establish himself as a credible and powerful leader respected by the party and the Indian community.
In recent months there was intense talk among MIC’s rank and file that Samy Vellu may call for an early presidential election to oust Palanivel and that Subramaniam will be the candidate to replace Palanivel.
Adding fuel to the speculation, Subramaniam began a nationwide tour under the guise of “meet the people sessions” organising large-scale gatherings to help Indians under the government task force.
Through these gatherings organised at the MIC divisional level, Subramaniam also met MIC branch chairmen, who are the voters in a presidential election.
MIC sources said Palanivel’s faction is worried that if Subramaniam continues as cabinet minister after January, he will be able to build a strong power base to mount a challenge for the presidency. The presidential election must be called by February 2012.
One observed noted: “It was okay for Subramaniam to be cabinet minister with Samy Vellu as president. Subramaniam was obedient to Samy Vellu and reported everything to Samy Vellu.”
“But Palanivel will only be an acting president and needs to strengthen himself. With their relationship already strained, it is not safe for Palanivel to let Subramaniam continue as minister,” he added.
One solution, said the observer, was for Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak to heed the long-time call to have two Indian representatives in the cabinet and appoint Palanivel as well.
“If that is not possible, then Palanivel should move in to become the sole cabinet minister to strengthen himself within the party and community. That will also put a check on Subramaniam.
“If he is not the cabinet minister anymore, then he can forget about challenging Palanivel. He doesn’t have that much ground support in MIC. His only strength is being a minister,” he added.
Will there be an acting deputy president?
There is also another debate brewing in the party which may create further rifts between Palanivel and Subramaniam. Will the latter be appointed as acting deputy president?
In an interview with TV3 a few months ago, Samy Vellu said he will hand over the leadership to Palanivel and Subramaniam will be appointed as the acting deputy president.
However, MIC sources said Samy Vellu had jumped the gun since this was something which Palanivel must decide as acting president and not Samy Vellu, the outgoing president.
There is also a legal poser. When Samy Vellu resigns as president, Palanivel only becomes an acting president but still continues as deputy president as he is elected for a period of three years until the party elections are held in 2012.
Therefore the question of a vacancy in the position of deputy president does not arise. The relevant clause 53 in the MIC constitution reads as follows: “In the event of the post of deputy president falling vacant, the president may in consultation with the central working committee appoint an acting deputy president from among the vice-presidents for the rest of the term.”
Despite the legal uncertainty, there is also another plausible reason why Palanivel may not appoint Subramaniam as the acting deputy president. Such an appointment will automatically make Subramaniam the de facto No 2 in the party, giving him additional political strength to mount a challenge against Palanivel in 2012.
One Palanivel supporter said Palanivel is likely to keep the post of acting deputy president vacant and let the MIC delegates decide for themselves during the 2012 party elections as to who should be the rightful number two.
If Palanivel picks this option, it will create further animosity between him and Subramaniam's camp. Palanivel will be seen as by-passing Subramaniam despite a pointer by his mentor Samy Vellu.
History repeats itself
However, Palanivel will not be first MIC president to make such a decision.
In 1976, when MIC deputy president Athi Nahappan died, there was tremendous pressure on president S Manickavasagam to appoint Samy Vellu as the acting deputy president as he was then serving as the first vice-president having won with the highest votes in the 1975 party elections.
Manickavasagam refused to appoint an acting deputy president and this plunged the party into a leadership tussle. Eventually that led to a contest for the coveted deputy president’s post in 1977 between Samy Vellu and (former deputy president) S Subramaniam. Samy Vellu won the contest with a 26-vote majority.
When Manickavasagam died in 1979, there was pressure on Samy Vellu to appoint Subramaniam as the acting deputy president as he was then the first vice-president. In the 1979 party election, Subramaniam won the vice- president’s post with the highest number of votes among the vice- presidential candidates.
However, Samy Vellu refused to make such an appointment citing Manickavasagam who had set the precedent in 1976 by not making such an appointment. That led to a political fight between Samy Vellu and Subramaniam and in May 1981 both entered into a truce and Subramaniam, in the party elections held in the same year, was elected unanimously as the deputy president.
Now history repeats itself!
JK Jayan is an observer on Malaysian politics and a freelance writer.
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