MIC sec-gen resigns following polls defeat

S Murugesan has resigned as MIC secretary-general, keeping with his pledge that he would do so if defeated in the 13th general election.

On May 5, he had failed to wrest the Kota Raja parliamentary seat in Selangor from PAS incumbent Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud. He previously contested the Subang parliamentary seat in 2008 but lost to PKR's R Sivarasa.
Murugesan will be replaced by central working committee member A Sakthivel, a division head from Puchong who had lost the Kapar parliamentary seat to PKR newcomer G Manivannan.

In a statement today, Murugesan said he had reiterated his intention to party president G Palanivel last week.

"I... allowed a few days for him to find a suitable successor," Murugesan said in the statement, issued shortly after he had tendered his resignation letter.
Murugesan said that the party, which won four out of the nine parliamentary seats it contested, now needs to rejuvenate itself.

“I have given my best to move the party forward and make it more relevant to the younger generation,” he said.

“However, I believe the time has come for me to step down and allow others to continue with the process of rebuilding the party,” he added.

Murugesan said that he would take a short break before returning to his capacity as an MIC branch chairperson and also as a Central Working Committee (CWC) member.

He also thanked Palanivel for offering him the opportunity to serve as party secretary-general and said that the MIC president has “deep compassion” for the Indian Malaysian community.

Siti Mariah won the Kota Raja seat by a whopping 29,395-vote majority in the election on May 5.