Palani, Nijhar quit MIED board

The MIC chief says board meetings were time-consuming and that he had too many responsibilities to handle both as party president and minister.

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president G Palanivel today resigned as a board member of MIC’s educational arm, Maju Institute for Education Development (MIED). He confirmed this via a SMS.

“I have too many responsibilities to handle both as party president and minister. The MIED board meetings are very time-consuming.

“My job is to provide leadership to the party and the community. I think I will concentrate on this matter,” said Palanivel who did not attend the MIED’s 24th annual general meeting that was held at the Dynasty Hotel here this morning.

MIED is MIC’s educational arm that provides funds for needy Indian students and manages the party’s Asia Institute for Medicine Science and Technology (AIMST) in Kedah.

The party chief has traditionally been MIED chairman since its inception in 1984.

There were rumours that MIED chairman S Samy Vellu and Palanivel had a tiff over who should be the next chairman. Palanivel declined to comment when asked on this.

A trustee member who attended this morning’s board meeting told FMT: “The MIED legal adviser also had walked out during the board meeting this morning.

“He got fed up when a board member called him a liar,” said the member. The legal adviser is a lawyer from Selva Mookiah and Associates.

Meanwhile, KS Nijhar in an SMS told FMT that he was not seeking re-election as well to avoid conflict of interest.

“The reason for not seeking re-election is, I will be taking up a position as chairman in a public-private sector initiative project, namely a matriculation centre.”