Well, less said the better. Muthu may not last the race – either not enough nomination, or decides not to challenge, or unable to compete due to various reasons (technical, health, safety, etc). But, really, to even think of challenging Samy Vellu?

Veteran MIC leader Datuk M. Muthupalaniappan is considering challenging Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu for the post of MIC president.

Speaking to Bernama, the former MIC vice-president said over the past two weeks, he met members and grassroots leaders and their “feedback has been encouraging”. “I would not be making any official confirmation on the matter now. My supporters and branch leaders feel that if I announce my intention now, then they would have to face the wrath of Samy Vellu who may choose to expel those who support me.

“I also feel that Samy Vellu should be challenged in the interest of MIC, the Barisan Nasional and the Malaysian Indian community,” Muthupalaniappan said today.

Come March, the largest Indian party in the country would hold its presidential election, while the election of deputy president, three vice-president and 23 central working committee (CWC) seats would be held in September.

Samy Vellu has announced that he would defend the party top post and was initially, speculated to win the post uncontested.

However, Muthupalaniappan bid for the top post would see him throw a spanner in the works, if he manages to garner nominations from 50 branches.

The party constitution requires a presidential candidate to obtain at least 50 nominations from branches before he/she is allowed to contest for the top post.

Each nomination must be proposed by a branch office-bearer and seconded by five other branch office-bearers.

The branch office-bearers would cast their ballots to pick the MIC president, unlike for other national positions which would be decided by some 1,500 delegates to the party’s general assembly.

“There is also apprehension among branch leaders that the president might use his influence to discourage them from nominating me for the top post. I have been advised to make an official stand only in two or three weeks.

“In the meantime, I would be consulting senior party leaders on my intention,” said Muthupalaniappan who is known as Muthu in the party’s inner circles.

The 68-year-old Seremban-based Muthupalaniappan, who is a lawyer by profession, was first elected to the MIC central working committee in 1979. The same year, he was appointed Negeri
Sembilan MIC chief, and party Youth head.

He was made senator in 1980, and two years later, won the Si Rusa state assembly seat and
was appointed to the Negeri Sembilan state executive council.

He contested the party vice-presidency in 1987 and 1991 but lost both bids.

Muthupalaniappan eventually landed a veep seat in 1997 but failed to retain the post at the party’s 2000 and 2006 elections.

What do you think? Should Muthu go for it? Would Samy consider him as a serious challenger?

What is the implication of pushing the MIC elections for its top posts minus the president, from June to September 2009? The president will be elected in February, and the rest of the leaders (a deputy president, three vice-presidents and 23 CWC members) 3 months later.Compared to other political parties in the country, the MIC has a different system in electing its national office-bearers. The presidential election is held at least three months ahead of the elections for the other posts. The president, in the case of a contest, is picked by branch office-bearers while other national leaders are picked by divisional delegates.

The deputy presidency seems to be the all-important post this time around as observers feel that the man who fills this post would lead the 650,000-member MIC into the next general election.

Another school of thought says Samy Vellu might decline going for the presidency if he can strike a deal among the big players in MIC politics before February next year, but this is unlikely to happen taking into account the political ambitions of a few in the upper hierarchy of the party.

What difference does extra 3 months offer? Let’s see some of the comments:

“Things are very unclear now. Nobody knows what is going on in his (Samy Vellu’s) mind. It is all a guessing game. Only time will tell who he would endorse as his deputy, if he ever endorses anyone,” party veteran and treasurer-general Tan Sri M. Mahalingam told Bernama, when contacted.

Dr Subramanian is seen as potential deputy president material. Others expected by party observers to join the contest for deputy president are Datuk S. Subramaniam, the former deputy president; Datuk G. Palanivel, the incumbent deputy president and Datuk S. Sothinathan, an incumbent vice-president.

It is learnt that Dr Subramaniam will only contest the party’s No. 2 post with the blessings of Samy Vellu while the other three are playing a wait-and-see game.

Samy Vellu, one of the longest-serving presidents of a BN component party, had said after his defeat in the Sungai Siput parliamentary constituency in the general election and in an effort to consolidate the MIC that he would not take sides in the deputy president’s race.

It has been the norm in the party, over the last two decades, for the MIC chief to come up with a list of preferred candidates for national positions and this practice, some claim, had “killed democracy” in the party.

At the last elections, he proposed that Palanivel be given the endorsement for deputy president to overthrow Subramaniam who had served as the party No. 2 for 27 years prior to the 2006 party election defeat.

In a bid to “strengthen” the party, Samy Vellu has since patched up with Subramaniam, who had been a thorn in Samy Vellu’s flesh since the mid-1970s, and the “deal” was that the MIC chief would not take sides at the next party polls, especially in the tussle for deputy president.

“He (Samy Vellu) created Palanivel to kill off Subramaniam (known in party circles as Subra). Now he has both of them on each side. On top of that, he has Dr Subramaniam, who is a full minister. To add icing to the cake, Sothinathan, who garnered the highest number of votes in the veep race the last time around, is knocking at the door of the deputy presidency.

“But one cannot discount other candidates, like Saravanan who is seen by the community as a breath of fresh air. Young leaders like him and several others are breaking into the ranks. They too have ideas which they feel are relevant to the younger generation and current political trend in the country,” said S. Ananthan, the MIC president’s former political secretary.

However, Ananthan argues that it is time for the MIC to change, not only through a rebranding exercise but also from inside, meaning changing the leadership.

“If you see, the entire line-up, may it be Samy Vellu, Subra, Palanivel or even Sothi(nathan), are old names. The general election results told MIC a lot of things but they should learn lessons instead of continuing with their old ways. Putting up a list of preferred candidates will destroy the party.

“Indians want to support the MIC but the party itself should reinvent the way it operates. It has to offer something to the Indians. That is the difficult part. Indians want the party to show that it has changed for the good,” Ananthan said.

Looks like Samy needs some time to decide on his deputy. Once he is endorsed as a president again (I doubt anyone will be challenging him), he has to put into action his plans to evaluate the potential deputies, who most likely will take over by next general elections.