MIC members packed the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur under the sweltering heat to witness the nominations for the presidential post, and the results did not come as a surprise.

mic samy vellu presidential 220309 04 The incumbent of three decades, S Samy Vellu retained his post uncontested after 48 out of the 53 nominations for his sole challenger M Muthupalaniappan were rejected by the elections steering committee.

The announcement was greeted with loud cheers by the veteran president's supporters, who mobbed the 73-year-old politician to congratulate and garland him.

However, critics said the outcome only proved that Samy Vellu still possessed an iron grip on the embattled party and his challenger's chances were doomed from the start.

"They would have never let him contest. Even Muthupalaniappan would not be the least bit surprised by this," said a disappointed party member who declined to be named.

According to the committee, the nominations were rejected based on non-compliance with the party constitution and election by-laws.

Out of the 572 nominations for Samy Vellu, 117 were deemed unacceptable, leaving him with 455. A candidate has to secure a minimum of 50 nominations in order to be eligible to contest.

"The election steering committee verified all the nomination papers and as a result of the verification we rejected those nominations from both contenders," announced committee head S Vijayanathan.

"Our task was to follow the constitution and the presidential election by-laws and, at the end of it, we found only one candidate qualified to contest. We are obliged under the constitution to declare Samy Vellu as the MIC president for the term 2009-2012," he said.

'He was walking a thin line'

Speaking to Malaysiakini later, Vijaynathan said: "Ninety-nine percent of the nominations were rejected for duplicity (branch chairpersons who nominated both candidates)."

Dismissing the allegation that the entire process was rigged, he said Muthupalaniappan's chances were slim from the start.

"He was already treading a thin line, his safe margin was less than five percent."

mic samy vellu presidential 220309 03 After filing his nomination papers, Muthupalaniappan told reporters that his rivals were using underhand tactics to disqualify him from the race.

He alleged that the incumbent's camp went from door-to-door to secure nominations from those who had already nominated Muthupalaniappan, thus rendering the nominations invalid.

The former MIC vice-president, who vowed to bring massive reforms to the party if elected, confidently declared: "If my nomination goes through, I'll become the president."

'This is my last term'

Meanwhile, Samy Vellu said this would be his last presidential elections. "I will leave after this (term). I have nothing to hide. All the 3,640 MIC branch leaders are my bosses."

mic samy vellu presidential 220309 01 Thanking God for being allowed to helm the party for a record 11th term, the president said he would relinquish the reins after training the next generation of leaders.

"I am overwhelmed by the support I have received. This shows that our party is united. My re-election is a matter of pride to all MIC members," he said to a thunderous applause.

The immediate task at hand, he said, was to ensure that Barisan Nasional wins in all three by-elections on April 7, especially in Bukit Selambau (Kedah) where a MIC candidate will be contesting.

The Indian-based party is still licking its wounds after being trounced in the March 8 general election, which even saw its formidable president being ousted from his bastion of Sungai Siput.

According to observers, Bukit Selambau will be an acid test for both MIC and Samy Vellu. Should the party be defeated, sources said the pressure will mount on the president to step down.

The grapevines already have it that incoming premier Najib Abdul Razak wants to start his administration on a clean slate and has been pushing the MIC veteran to submit a transition plan.

Subramaniam for No 2?

Today's event also further fuelled speculations that Samy Vellu's former estranged deputy S Subramaniam ( photo: left ) might reclaim the position which he had lost to G Palanivel ( photo: right ) in 2006.

Talk is that the two veterans have struck a compromise in terms of the coming elections for the other MIC posts.

mic palanivel and s subramaniam friendly conversation 060306 Subramaniam himself appeared to lend credence to this when he told reporters this morning that he personally felt that the presidential post should not be contested at this point of time.

While remaining tightlipped about his future plans, the former deputy president said: "I did not want to contest for presidency because MIC must be united to win back the support of the Indian community. MIC and BN are at their crossroads."

"Samy Vellu has said this would be his last term so I think we should allow him to complete it," he added.

Sources claimed that one of the reasons why Muthupalanippan failed to secure a higher number of nominations was because the branch chairpersons aligned to Subramaniam were instructed not to nominate him.

Apart from Subramaniam and the incumbent Palanivel, the other potential candidates tipped for the number two slot are vice-president S Sothinanthan and secretary general Dr S Subramaniam, the party's sole representative in the cabinet.

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