The e-mail referred to in an article concerning an alleged conspiracy between certain MIC leaders and the Registrar of Societies (ROS) to topple former party president G Palanivel is nothing more than a synopsis, claimed a party source familiar with the matter.

The source said the synopsis was authored on Feb 19, after all the letters from the ROS to MIC were issued and ceased as of Feb 6.

“When Palanivel's team declared they are going to court to challenge the ROS, the synopsis was created as an information note to help understand the issue better in preparation for the case,” he said.

The source was responding to an article penned by Penang Deputy Chief Minister II P Ramasamy, which was published in Malaysiakini yesterday.

The DAP leader cited a press conference held by AK Ramalingam, a close confidante of Palanivel, who revealed details that letters and directives sent by ROS to Palanivel were allegedly engineered by one of the current vice-presidents through his lawyer.

However, the source questioned why Ramalingam did not furnish a copy of this e-mail to the media during his press conference.

“The question which must be asked is - was there any fault found in the points raised by RoS after a year of investigation?” asked the source.

“During this period of investigation by the RoS, the five who went to court to challenge the RoS letter were Palanivel (president), S Sothinathan and S Balakrishnan (vice-presidents), A Prakash Rao (secretary-general) and Ramalingam (strategic director).

“In short, they had full administrative control of MIC and full access to give the investigating ROS officers all the evidence or supporting documents to counter the issues raised by ROS.

“To date, Palanivel and his team have never contested the findings of the ROS on the formation of illegal branches and election fraud,” he said.

The source pointed out that Palanivel and his team had only contested the powers and authority of ROS in issuing the letter and calling for a re-election.

Meanwhile, another MIC leader, who spoke on condition of anonymity, dismissed the latest allegations, saying these people are undermining the reputation of the ROS as well.

He also alleged that some who are demanding higher positions in the party are exploiting this issue and stressed that the leadership would not bow to their demands.

“The subject matter that is being alleged, i.e. the letter from ROS, has been challenged at the highest court and the court upheld the decision of the ROS.

“At all levels of hearing, ROS has steadfastly held that it had the lawful authority to issue the said letter. The matter is now a res judicata (matter has been adjudicated by court),” he added.