KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 19 — The late IPF founder Tan Sri M.G. Pandithan had an eye for drama when alive, most famously by once holding a hunger strike beside a coffin, but even in death, drama dogs him, his party and his legacy.
One such drama is being played out before Justice Mohamad Ariff Yusof at the High Court in Jalan Duta here.
It is a case full of suspense and drama and a key issue is whether on his death bed in April, Pandithan had held a meeting of the IPF supreme council, whether the meeting was legally constituted and whether the appointment of his wife as party president over that of senior party leaders who had been loyal to him for over three decades is valid.
The case was brought by Pandithan loyalist V. Mathialagan, the IPF leader for the northern region who was sacked as an IPF member in November by Puan Sri Jayashree Pandithan and her faction.
Imagine the scene — Pandithan lies dying at the ICU of Kuala Lumpur Hospital. He can speak although he is in a semi-comatose state, the court heard. An IPF supreme council meeting is summoned to decide the fate of the party after Pandithan.
The key issue is who is to head the party.
According to affidavits filed by Mathialagan, no meeting took place, no decision was made and Jayashree was not picked as acting president. He says Pandithan was too far gone to do anything.
However, Jayashree in her affidavit said a meeting took place in the "waiting room" of the ICU and because of the serious condition Pandithan was in, two members were allowed into the ICU at a time and had "participated" in the "meeting".
"There was a meeting, Pandithan did select his wife as acting president and supreme council members endorsed the decision," said lawyer S. Selvam for Jayashree.
He said Mathialagan and others took part in the "meeting", signed the minutes and subsequently attended three supreme council meetings chaired by Jayashree and only after he was sacked did he file a suit questioning Jayashree's appointment as acting president.
He said Pandithan used "hand signals" to indicate his decision and everybody accepted Jayashree as acting president and signed the minutes of the meeting.
Saraswathy Kandasami, lawyer for Mathialagan, however, argued yesterday that the real truth was that Pandithan was too far gone to summon a meeting let alone chair it and pick his wife as acting president.
"In reality such a meeting never took place," she told judge Ariff. "The whole event was created, the minutes were fabricated and the party was hijacked by Jayashree on her husband's death bed."
"It never took place,” she said, arguing that as a result any subsequent decision Jayashree took including sacking Mathialagan was illegal and void.
To complicate matters the hospital has written a letter saying no meeting took place at the ICU at the time when Pandithan was fighting for his life.
But Selvam argued that a meeting does not necessarily have to be held in a boardroom with all the paraphernalia of a formal meeting. "This is an emergency situation; it does not have to be a formal meeting.
"As long as Pandithan is aware of his decision and as long as the supreme council members endorsed his decision the selection of Jayashree is valid," he said. "A meeting did take place."
He further said on Dec 14 the IPF AGM selected Jayashree as president and therefore even if the ICU meeting is questioned, the IPF floor had subsequently endorsed her as president.
Mathialagan's counsel Saraswathy however argued that the AGM was illegal and void because only "selected" members were permitted to attend and participate.
"Hundreds of other members were barred," she argued. "This is a conspiracy to hijack the party from its rightful members."
Ariff heard the arguments patiently and declared his mind is open but he is worried because section 18/C of the Societies Act 1966 is "crystal clear" that the court is barred by law from hearing any dispute involving decisions of a political party.
The hearing is continuing with both parties submitting on law and fact.
The outcome of the suit is important because considering the altered political landscape after March 8, the Barisan Nasional is finally ready to admit IPF as a member and help it to organise and strengthen itself to win over working-class Tamil voters who had fled the MIC/BN in large numbers.
Pandithan tried and failed since 1990 to gain entry into the BN because of strong opposition from MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.
But under pressure from Umno, Samy Vellu has dropped his opposition to opening the doors for IPF to enter but the party's internal squabbles are a major setback.
It is split into three factions — IPF proper under Jayashree, an IPF Bersatu faction under M. Panjamurthi and the third faction controlled by Mathialagan.
The fight is also about spoils and if the factions can close ranks, the rewards that come with BN membership are many.
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