MIC POLLS AFTERMATH: Subra faces 5 charges
(The Malay Mail) DEFEATED deputy presidential candidate Datuk S. Subramaniam will face at least five charges by the MIC disciplinary committee in an apparent move to expel him from the party.
Sources said more charges could be piled against Subramaniam as “complaints are mounting”.
It was believed that the committee has five “open-shut” cases that would lead to the 65-year-old veteran politician’s expulsion from the party.
The alleged five acts by Subramaniam that tarnished the party’s image were:
• confirming the confession of stolen votes by former vice-president Datuk V. Govindaraj in the election for deputy president in 1977, first reported by Malay Mail;
• asking his newspaper, Makkal Osai, to publish lies aimed at undermining the credibility of the MIC;
• seeking outside help to achieve his aim of winning the post;
• practising money politics. (While Subramaniam has claimed that his defeat was due to money politics, Samy Vellu said he too could prove that he (Subramaniam) had used money to gain support); and
• bringing in more than 500 youths, described by Samy Vellu as gangsters, to disrupt the party’s 63rd general assembly on Saturday.
It was also believed that Subramaniam can expect a showcause letter “very soon as the leadership do not want his shadow cast over the party as there are lots of things to address”.
Asked if Subramaniam would quit the party rather than face the charges, a party member said: “I have known him for a long time and I don’t think he will run away.
“Rather than be a coward, he will see an expulsion as an advantage to his political career. The close outcome of the results shows he still commands considerable support in the party and being the fighter he is, he will fight to the end.”
Meanwhile, Subramaniam’s supporters have refuted allegations of 500 youths being brought to PWTC to frighten the delegates into voting for him.
They said there were only about 100 youths and they were all outside the hall. They wore red T-shirts with a picture of Subramaniam with the words “Change for the Better”.
“They were not unruly and the only time they yelled in unison was when they shouted ‘Hidup BN, hidup BN’ on the arrival of Datuk Seri Najib (Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak),” a supporter said.
On why the youths had to be present, he said: “Since they brought in their people, we also had to show we have people.”
Samy Vellu claimed yesterday that some of the youths entered the hall when the voting was in progress and that “we had a tough time getting them out of the hall”.
He said he had never seen such an incident during the MIC general assembly. The party has details of the youths and has informed the relevant authorities.
Subra weighs his options
SUPPORTERS of Datuk S. Subramaniam have described the MIC as an “exclusive club” where they do not have a place any longer. “We don’t think we will be welcome to this ‘exclusive club’ and we will be heart broken to leave the MIC,” said Bandar Bukit Sentosa MIC branch chairman N.Gopal Krishnan.
He said many of Subramaniam’s supporters were huddled in discussion over the weekend to weigh his options as well as theirs, he said.
Some, he said, would like to stay on and fight another day while others felt the current MIC would not be accepted by the rakyat.
“It’s a difficult decision because the party would most likely expel Subramaniam for alleged misconduct,” he said.
Several supporters who spoke with Malay Mail echoed similar views. They asked that their names not
be mentioned because they have “unfinished business” and will also face the disciplinary board if they spoke up against the leadership.
Subramaniam, 65, has asked his supporters not to say or do anything rash. His aides said he knows that he
wields a strong influence in the party and has refused to be drawn into discussing his next move.
Subramaniam’s support in the MIC has reportedly been up to 50% of the total number of party delegates in the MIC at any one time, Gopal Krishnan said.
Gopal said anti Samy Vellu sentiments were regrettably split, causing Subramaniam to bear the brunt of a defeat “in a battle that was actually between Samy Vellu and Subramaniam”.
He analysed that 629 votes polled by deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel was pro-Samy Vellu while the combined anti-Samy Vellu votes was 827.
Gopal noted that the 547 votes received by Subramaniam and the 280 votes that the second challenger Datuk S. Sothinathan garnered “are actually a defeat for Samy Vellu.”
Some of the supporters speculated that Subramaniam might helm one of the new Indian parties, notably Makkal Sakti.
“If Subra leaves the MIC he has no problems of having to please campaign financiers who are dependent on government munificence.
“There was no such thing in Subra’s campaign. Those who helped financially did so voluntarily and do not expect anything. They did it to serve the community,” said a close aide of Subramaniam.
The aide said Subramaniam, who is Seputeh division chairman, had always been uncomfortable with the opposition, and as such “Pakatan Rakyat is out of the question.”
He said Subramaniam, who appears to be enjoying an increased respect in the MIC and with a wider segment of the Indian community despite the defeat “has a huge decision to make.”
