Tiada perpecahan – TPM


[UM] KUALA LUMPUR 14 April – Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin menganggap dakwaan pihak tertentu kononnya wujud pertelingkahan di antara UMNO dan MIC berhubung bakal calon Pilihan Raya Kecil Parlimen Hulu Selangor, adalah perkara biasa.

Timbalan Perdana Menteri berkata, khabar angin seperti itu hanyalah satu perkara yang menjadi ‘berita menarik’ untuk diperkatakan pada sesuatu pilihan raya.

“Tiada ada perpecahan. Pada masa seperti ini di mana kita berhadapan dengan pilihan raya kecil, semua perkara menjadi menarik. Semua orang mahu membuat penilaian masing-masing tentang apa-apa pun,” katanya.

Beliau berkata demikian pada sidang akhbar selepas merasmikan Sidang Kemuncak Pendidikan Malaysia ke-14 bertemakan ‘Pembangunan Minda Generasi Muda - Terhadap Kreativiti dan Inovatif dalam Sistem Pendidikan’ di sini hari ini.

Muhyiddin mengulas dakwaan bahawa kedua-dua parti komponen Barisan Nasional (BN) itu kini bertelingkah berhubung siapa yang bakal menjadi calon bagi kerusi Parlimen Hulu Selangor....- Faizah Izzani dan Muzdalifah

MIC to DPM: Palanivel or bust

[TMI] KUALA LUMPUR, April 15 — MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu will meet with Barisan Nasional deputy chairman Tan Sri Muhyiddin Yassin this morning with an ultimatum from the party — Datuk G. Palanivel as the Hulu Selangor candidate or nothing.


Relations between the two senior BN members have been strained by reports that Umno was keen to replace the former four-term Hulu Selangor MP with a new face — MIC Youth deputy leader V. Mugilan — when Muhyiddin announces the candidate this afternoon.

“This has never happened before, but the CWC meeting last night resolved that BN accepts Palanivel or we won’t stand in Hulu Selangor this time; let Umno put a candidate,” a central working committee (CWC) member told The Malaysian Insider.

The party had proposed Palanivel’s name for the April 25 by-election, triggered by the death of PKR MP Datuk Dr Zainal Abidin Ahmad late last month. The MIC deputy president has been the four-term MP for Hulu Selangor since 1990, before his defeat in Election 2008 by a narrow 198 votes.

But in recent weeks, other names have surfaced — including Mugilan’s, the Hulu Selangor MIC Youth chief, and party information chief, P. Kamalanathan — much to the chagrin of the party, which sees the by-election as a way to promote Palanivel and cement his status as Samy Vellu’s successor.

“Datuk Seri Samy will bring this difficult decision to Tan Sri Muhyiddin ... both were scheduled to meet last night but the meeting was postponed twice and now they will meet this morning,” the CWC member added.

The Malaysian Insider understands the meeting will be held at 8.30am, after previous meetings were called off due to the deputy prime minister’s tight schedule.

An MIC source revealed that the majority of the MIC leadership agreed with the ultimatum in the meeting, after Samy Vellu briefed them on the background of the issue and correspondence with both Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak and Muhyiddin on the party’s choice.

But it is understood that there were some who believed MIC should accept the final decision of Najib, who is the BN chairman.

The unprecedented late night CWC meeting, however, resolved that MIC will not accept any name other than Palanivel’s.


“Any MIC members who receive an offer to stand as the party representative will be sacked immediately... meaning until now, only one name has been offered by the MIC and no one else can accept the ticket for MIC,” the source said.

Asked if the decision was a threat to the BN leadership, an MIC leader said “it is not a threat but a firm stand to defend MIC’s dignity”.

Samy Vellu had announced early this morning the party was investigating Mugilan, who is also Hulu Selangor MIC Youth chief, for allegedly “stealing” the Hulu Selangor seat from Palanivel....G. Manimaran