Samy names his team
By FREDERICK FERNANDEZ
Mar 3, 2006
The Star
 
KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said he is backing Datuk G. Palanivel to be his deputy to ensure the party has a capable successor when he decides to call it quits. 

The Works Minister said he needed a deputy who could work with him to improve the welfare of the Indian community. 

Palanivel, the Deputy Women, Family and Community Development Minister, would take on incumbent Datuk S. Subramaniam for the Number Two post when MIC members go to the polls in June. 

“As the president, it is my duty to ensure there is a capable successor to the leadership at the right time,” Samy Vellu said after attending the welcoming reception for Iranian President Dr Mahmoud Ahmadinejad at Parliament Square here yesterday.  

He said he also favoured Datuk S. Veerasingam, Tan Sri K.S. Nijhar and secretary-general Datuk S. Sothinathan to take the three vice-president posts, confirming a report in The Star on Wednesday that he had told state liaison chiefs and several central committee members at a closed-door meeting that he endorsed the candidacies of Palanivel and these three leaders.  

Veerasingam, the deputy Domestic Trade and Consumer Affairs Minister, Nijhar, who is Subang MP, and Palanivel are incumbent vice-presidents. 

Samy Vellu said it was important for the president to have a line-up that could work with him as a team, adding that he chose the leaders based on their capability and the feedback he received from grassroots members. 

He said it was also important to have a combination of leaders holding government posts, serving in Parliament and having the experience of serving the party, adding that they and Cameron Highlands MP K. Devamany had been tasked with bringing problems faced by the Indian community to Parliament. 

On Sothinathan, he said: “I am putting him in the elections now. I don't want him to be an appointed man all the time.”  

When contacted, Subramaniam said he would comment on the matter later.  

Source: http://thestar.com.my/news/story.asp?file=/2006/3/3/nation/13553161&sec=nation