Monday, August 31, 2009

MIC Elections

I am back...to blogging that is. As many would know the MIC would hold it's party election on Sept 12. This is regarded by many as a water shed election for the party to pick the next line of leaders, to take MIC to a higher plane in the future.

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, who was elected unopposed at the MIC presidential election in March this year, has picked his own line-up of leaders for the party polls.

The 1,464 delegates to the MIC assembly on March 12 would pick a deputy president, three vice presidents and 23 central working committee (CWC) members.
Incumbent deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel is the president's choice to retain the post.

The president's men for the three veep seats are Human Resources Minister Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam, deputy minister in the Prime Minister's Department Datuk S. K. Devamany and myself.

A total 27 candidates have been named by the president to fill in the 23 CWC seats.

As for the deputy presidency, Datuk Palanivel would be challenged by vice-president Datuk S. Sothinathan and former deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam.

While this looks like a tough fight, Datuk Palanivel seems to have the edge over the other two candidates based on his support from Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu. Another factor is the track record of the deputy president, in this case Datuk Palanivel.

In the veep race, all three of us -- Datuk Dr Subramaniam, Datuk Devamany and myself -- seem to be leading the seven cornered race. The other candidates here are Datuk S. Balakishnan of Johor, Datuk V.K.K. Teagarajan of Kuala Lumpur, P. Subramaniam of Selangor and Mariyayee of Negeri Sembilan.

I do not intend to offend any of the other candidates but delegates that I have met, have openly declared their support for the presidential trio. Some say that we would win.

However, I am cautious. Politics is not something that is taken for granted. There are still 12 days to go before delegates to go the polls and in politics 12-days is a very long time, especially when things can change overnight.

In the meantime, I am currently on a nationwide campaign tour to ensure delegates voted for the right people.

This is all for now. I would be updating this blog from time to time on issues that crop-up in this party election. However, I would refrain from naming people in my articles as this could jeopardise their chances.

Please bear with me as the last few months had been hectic and this had prevented me from blogging actively. I am enclosing a Bernama article released today. It can be viewed at http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newspolitic.php?id=436994

Thank You and God Bless.

2 comments:

Dr. PUNITHAN SHAN said...

SOTHINATHAN : MY VISION FOR CHANGE
http://indiansmalaysia.blogspot.com/2009/09/sothinathan-my-vision-for-change.html


DATO SOTHINATHAN : BELIEVE IN CHANGE-VOTE FOR CHANGE
http://indiansmalaysia.blogspot.com/2009/09/dato-sothinathan-believe-in-change-vote.html

Anitha said...

Dear Datuk,

Congratulations on your nomination for the MIC Vice President post. Although you have been endorsed but I (and many others too) think you will win this position on your own merits. You are a better candidate to helm this position and take MIC and our Indian community to the next level.

Among all the candidates, you have a position in the government that has access to both public and private sectors. This is vital for the community.

You have also made strong presence in the country since taking office in a short span of time and this is important in a multi race country like ours. We see the community presence in you.

Many would agree that the fundamental requirement to growth is presence followed by ability and willingness. You have it all.

Hope the voters will make a learned decision in casting their votes.