BN's liability - it's Khir not Palanivel

By Free Malaysia Today

KUALA LUMPUR: Former Selangor menteri besar Dr Mohd Khir Toyo has come under fire for suggesting that MIC field a new face in the Hulu Selangor by-election.

According to the Umno warlord, MIC should not let its deputy president G Palanivel run for the parliamentary seat, which the latter lost in the 2008 general election.

Khir had cited two reasons – should Palanivel win, it could result in MIC vice-president Dr S Subramaniam having to relinquish his cabinet post to make way for the more senior party leader.

This, he warned, would not go down well with Subramaniam's supporters and lead to disgruntlement in MIC.

Secondly, Khir said a defeat would spell the end for Palanivel's political career, and therefore it would be better for him to wait until the next general election.

In view of this, the former MB urged MIC to field a fresh face to woo the 19 percent Indian voters, in the Malay-majority seat.

According to sources, Palanivel's camp is livid over these remarks.

However, when contacted, the MIC deputy president brushed it aside, saying that his focus is on winning the by-election.

Furthermore, Palanivel added that the good public support he enjoys in the constituency, which he held for nearly two decades, outweighed these trivial matters.

Look who is talking

Meanwhile, other sources had lambasted Khir, arguing that he is in no position to comment on this issue, given his track-record.

One source even dismissed the former menteri besar as the biggest liability for Barisan Nasional in Selangor.

“He was the one responsible for the demolition of a Hindu temple prior to the last general election which sparked outrage among the Hindus.

“And he was the one who irked the civil servants by presenting a broom to the president of the Hulu Selangor District Council as a form of punishment,” he said.

He also pointed out that in the last general election, there were close to 1,500 spoilt votes in Hulu Selangor whereas Palanivel had lost the seat to PKR's Zainal Abidin Ahmad by a mere 198 votes.

“These were mostly protest votes, and they were mostly out of frutsration towards Khir,” he added.

Another source also questioned Khir's credibility, noting the avalanche of allegations against the Umno leader, ranging from corruption to abuse of power.

“If BN is serious about wanting to win back this seat, then it should not allow the likes of Khir to hit the campaign trail, which would only provide ammunition for Pakatan Rakyat.

“So in reality, it is Umno and not MIC which needs a fresh face to pull in the votes,” he added.

The Hulu Selangor seat fell vacant following the death of its incumbent Zainal last week following a protracted illness.

Observers have noted that the latest development would provide a fresh impetus for Palanivel's political career and has the potential of altering the equation in MIC.