KUALA LUMPUR: MIC is sitting on a time bomb that could explode in a matter of days.
There is talk that a full-scale war is shaping up between party president S Samy Vellu and deputy president G Palanivel, who takes his oath as senator today.
Party sources said the first shots could be fired soon after Samy Vellu returns from a trip to India. He is due back tomorrow.
Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak decided against fielding Palanivel in the recently concluded Hulu Selangor by-election although he was widely speculated to be the Barisan Nasional candidate when the seat fell vacant with the death of Zainal Abidin Ahmad of PKR.
As a trade-off, BN offered Palanivel a senatorship and a deputy minister’s post so that he could eventually take over the reins of the party, which is struggling to win back the support of the Indian community.
MIC is the largest Indian-based political party in the country, claiming a membership of 630,000.
A party insider said: "Samy Vellu is not happy with Palanivel getting the senatorship. He was not even informed about it. He got to know about it through aides and other sources.
“He got the confirmation only when Palanivel sent him a SMS thanking him for the Dewan Negara seat. Samy Vellu knows Palanivel's elevation as a senator is just one of the many steps the BN leadership is taking to ensure that he resign as president.”
"One of the first things we expect him to do once he gets back is to initiate disciplinary proceedings against Palanivel in an attempt to throw a spanner in the works of the BN leadership, which wants a smooth transition of power in the party.
"He is not keen on letting Palanivel take the helm.”
The source said Samy Vellu would prefer party vice president and Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam since they belonged to the same caste.
He said talk was rife that the party’s disciplinary board would haul up Palanivel and charge him with sabotaging the Hulu Selangor by-election.
Getting ready for battle.
Several sources said Samy Vellu had laid the groundwork for killing off Palanivel's political career and had directed several party leaders to gather evidence of his alleged wrongdoings during the Hulu Selangor polls.
Sources also said that Palanivel was getting ready for battle.
However, there is speculation among grassroots leaders that Palanivel would not take on Samy Vellu directly, but would instead let his lieutenants draw first blood.
Sources said several divisional leaders and central working committee (CWC) members, mainly from Selangor, would hold a press conference this week to call on Samy Vellu to step down to allow Palanivel to take over.
"This group wants Samy Vellu to leave and allow Palanivel to become acting president,” a source said.
“The deputy president’s slot would be filled by either S K Devamany (MIC veep and deputy minister in the prime minister's department) or Dr Subramaniam.
"Palanivel, according to their plan, has about two years to consolidate his position as president until the party polls in 2012. By then, he would be able to deal with any contender for the presidency.
“What is surprising is the number of CWC members silently campaigning and egging on Palanivel to go for the kill. They were once Samy Vellu diehards. He was the one who brought them into the party and gave them positions."
Unless something drastic happens earlier, the face-off between the two MIC heavyweights is expected to come to a boil at the Selangor MIC annual general meeting slated for this weekend. Palanivel is the Selangor MIC chief.
On another front, party insiders said Umno was favourable to "anyone except Samy Vellu" and that several Umno leaders had told Najib what they wanted him out of MIC.
The insiders claimed that Umno leaders were not keen on Samy Vellu being rewarded with the title of “Tun” in return for his stepping down. They said a “Tan Sri” would be sufficient.
“The Umno leaders feel that he was one of the major causes for the BN’s loss of Indian support,” said an insider. “They also feel that if he is awarded a Tunship, then the opposition would use it as campaign material.”
FMT reported recently that the Samy Vellu-Najib deal would also see the MIC president being made an ambassador-at-large and that there would be several other sweeteners.
Umno leaders are also said to be growing tired with BN component parties that drag their feet in initiating reforms and have impressed upon Najib that “if they don't want to do it, then BN should do it for them.”
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