Recently, Zahid advised against questioning the decision of the coalition’s top leadership on which party will be nominated to contest the Cameron Highlands’ parliamentary seat in the coming general election as this would offend certain quarters.
“The prime minister and I are looking at all candidates being sugested by the component parties, including MyPPP,” Zahid said.
“We feel the best thing to do is to consider the decision that will be made by the prime minister as BN chairman.”
Speaking to FMT, Kayveas said this is exactly what he’s been saying all along.
“Three years ago, MIC abandoned the seat when it sacked the MP from the party and three years ago I went to work there with the permission of the prime minister. This was because after they removed (former MIC president) G Palanivel, the seat was vacant as they did not replace Palanivel,” he said.
“Only three months ago did they put in a substitute, only when the election drew closer. Meanwhile, I’ve been working there for three years. Come on! That’s not fair.”
In July 2015, Subramaniam, who was then MIC deputy president, claimed to be the party’s acting president, a position he claimed had been endorsed by the Registrar of Societies (RoS).
The RoS, in a letter to the Subramaniam faction, merely stated that he “had taken note of the letter from him” on the latest MIC line-up, excluding Palanivel, as presented by the acting president.
Subramaniam’s claim to the party’s number one post was based on the fact that Palanivel had gone to court on a party matter without the sanction of the Central Working Committee (CWC) and hence had automatically ceased to be a MIC member.
“Two years after the 2013 election (GE13), MIC threw its president out and the prime minister told me to go there because there was no one there to take care of the seat,” Kayveas said.
“When I say I’ve got the permission of the prime minister to go there, then Subramaniam must respect that because as a party president I won’t simply talk.
“I’ve been president of MyPPP for 24 years while Subramaniam has only been a president for two years.
“You (MIC) keep saying it’s your seat but I think I have the blessings of the bosses to go and contest there.”
He said both Pahang Menteri Besar Adnan Yaakob and Zahid had made it clear in the middle of the year that candidates must be likeable candidates who had also done their ground work.
“MIC has not even named its candidate for Cameron Highlands. You cannot announce it at the last minute because Cameron Highlands is different.
“You’ve got farmers there, you’ve got Orang Asli there … they will only vote for someone they know.
“As for me, for the past three years, I’ve sent a birthday card to each and every single voter in Cameron Highlands. Can MIC say the same thing?”
Kayveas claimed that the fact that Prime Minister Najib Razak had yet to officially announce a candidate for Cameron Highlands only served to show he did not want MIC to contest there again.
“That’s an obvious hint that it’s no longer an MIC seat; otherwise he would have already announced it.
“If you ask someone for something and that person says he will think about it, that means no. Everyone knows that.”
Kayveas also brought up the question why MIC was giving so much focus to Cameron Highlands while apparently ignoring its other eight parliamentary seats.
“Is MIC saying it wants to abandon their other eight seats and only wants Cameron Highlands?
“MIC only wants Cameron Highlands because I’m working there and they want to make sure I don’t get a seat.
“No one hears of MIC doing anything about those seats and whether or not the party is doing its work in those seats.”
The eight parliamentary seats MIC contested in the GE13, apart from Cameron Highlands, are Hulu Selangor, Segamat, Tapah, Telok Kemang, Sungai Siput, Kapar, Subang and Kota Raja.
The party won in Cameron Highlands, Tapah, Hulu Selangor and Segamat.
“My advice to MIC is to focus on the other eight seats it has because it may end up losing those seats if it focuses too much on Cameron Highlands.
“Don’t worry about Cameron Highlands because I will deliver Cameron Highlands for BN,” Kayveas said.
Meanwhile, Subramaniam told FMT that MIC had brought its views regarding the Cameron Highlands seat to the prime minister and would abide by whatever Najib decides.
“Regarding seat allocations, I have the utmost confidence that the prime minister will make the best decision.”
http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/category/nation/2015/07/28/palanivels-sacking-sees-mic-left-with-one-minister/