KUALA LUMPUR: Former MIC president Tan Sri Dr S. Subramaniam needs to learn to keep his thoughts to himself if he does not want to be criticised by his former party leaders and members alike.
The former Health Minister has also been told to “look at himself in the mirror” before coming out with statements against the party and its current batch of leaders.
“This is just a warning for him not to meddle in party affairs. We all know how he ran the MIC using caste as a measure to promote and demote leaders. He is a fine-one to talk about caste system in the party.
“We do not want to open a can of worms on Dr Subramaniam but if he insists on criticising the party and its leaders then we have no choice but to declare war on him and pin point every single mistake he made as president.
“He should know that his style of leadership caused more erosion of Indian support for the party. It was his style of caste based politics that accelerated the decline in support for the party among Indians.
“What is there for Dr.Subramaniam to be shocked and angry? He himself had his favourites during his tenure as President and had voiced his choices of candidates for various positions during party elections. How do you think Datuk Seri M Saravanan lost by 17 votes to Dato Sri Devamany when Saravanan was clearly the grassroot’s choice for Deputy President?”, questioned the party insider.
“The current batch of leaders are trying hard to right the wrong done by people like Dr Subramaniam and former president G. Palanivel. The current batch of leaders are aggressive and have a mountain to climb in winning the support of the community, and they are trying their level best,” a MIC division leader said.
He was reacting to Dr Subramaniam’s statement yesterday that MIC delegates had made a major mistake by voting out former vice-president T Mohan at the just concluded party polls.
Expressing “shock and hurt” at the development, the former minister said Mohan had made immense contributions to the Indian community, particularly for Tamil schools.
“The party really needs more effective leaders who are driven by a passion to improve the community. Mohan’s defeat is a great loss to the party and the community as he is a man with a great passion for the Indian community.
Mohan lost the race for one of the three vice-president’s posts to M Asojan, T Murugaiah and R Nelson. This was despite him being a favourite, having won the post with the most votes in the 2021 election.
Another division leader who also declined to be named revealed that Dr Subramaniam during his tenure as party president had backed his “favourite” candidate for positions and this was a norm in the party then.
“At that time even the current deputy president (Datuk Seri M.) Saravanan lost in an election because Dr Subramaniam backed another candidate for the position. Dr Subramaniam is no stranger to gutter and caste politics. We have some respect for him, don’t lose it by making unwarranted statements just because you are angry and dissappointed Mohan lost,” said another party source.
Critics also argue that it was during Dr. Subramaniam’s MIC presidency that MIC faced challenges and setbacks as a political entity. The division leader also revealed that Subramaniam’s outburst on Mohan’s ouster was purely a personal agenda, engulfed around caste politics.
“Let’s also not forget that Dr.Subramaniam is defending someone who lost in all 3 general elections. T.Mohan was given 3 opportunities to stand for general elections, namely, the Batu Caves state seat in 2008, Seri Andalas state seat in 2013, and Hulu Selangor Parliamentary seat in 2022, in which he lost all 3. He was also appointed as Senator of the Dewan Negara for 2 terms. He has been given all the opportunities within the party and it is unfair for Dr.Subra to claim otherwise.” said the party source who refused to be named.