Bernama, June 28, 2008 --

Newly-appointed MIC Youth coordinator, S. Ramis, said today the resignation of a few MIC Youth leaders in Kedah in protest against the party requirement for youth leaders to relinquish their positions on attaining 40 years of age would not in any way jeopardise the party’s youth movement.

Ramis, who himself had vacated the post of MIC Youth deputy chief in keeping with the ruling, said these leaders could leave if they wanted to.

“The action of a few leaders in Kedah to resign from the party, stating that they have lost confidence in the (party) president (Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu) is unacceptable. They can leave if they want to. They are doing this to protect one person,” he told Bernama when contacted.

Ramis, who obtained yesterday the letter appointing him as the youth wing coordinator, said: “We are in the party not just because of one man... we are here for the community. It is a premature action (of resigning). They don’t even know the role of the youth advisory panel (set up to coordinate the wing).

Furthermore, the Kedah MIC Youth chief is not even affected by the (age limit) ruling of the party’s central working committee (CWC).”
MIC secretary-general Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam announced on June 19 that MIC Youth chief SA. Vigneswaran, Ramis and several other national youth leaders would have to vacate their positions as they had passed the age of 40, as stipulated by the MIC constitution.

The decision asking them to vacate their posts by the CWC, the highest decision-making body of the party, drew the ire of Vigneswaran, who argued that the leaders need not vacate their positions as their term of office would only end in 2009 even if they had passed the 40-year age limit.

On Thursday, national and state MIC Youth leaders met Subramaniam, who explained that the party would set up an MIC Youth advisory panel and appoint a coordinator to continue to run the programmes and activities, since the top national youth leaders would have vacated their posts, until the party polls in the middle of next year.

Subramaniam also said that youth leaders who had passed the age limit would be asked to form MIC branches in an effort to keep them active in the party.

The youth leaders who attended the meeting also pledged their full support for Samy Vellu and the party leadership. Absent were Vigneswaran and the youth leaders of Kedah, Perlis, Johor and Sabah.

It is learnt that the representatives from Sabah and Perlis had prior commitments in their respective states.

Yesterday, Kedah MIC Youth chief R. Nantha Kumar announced that he and three other youth leaders from the state were quitting the party in protest against Samy Vellu and his leadership.

They said they were also against the party supremo’s decision to ask Vigneswaran to resign from the MIC Youth chief post after the youth leader turned 41.

“They don’t even know what roles they would be given. The CWC will only meet on July 3 to deliberate on the matter and come up with a proper guideline but they went ahead and announced their intention to leave the party,” said Ramis.

The former Kahang (Johor) state assemblyman said that as the newly-appointed youth coordinator, he would go on a nationwide tour to explain to MIC Youth leaders the party leadership’s decision.

“In fact, the decision to allow youth leaders to run their own branches is another way for the party to create new leaders... leaders of the future. I must reiterate here that the youth wing is in full support of the president,” he added.