BATANG BERJUNTAI: The MIC Kuala Selangor division chief and 33 branch heads aligned to him have threatened to resign following a disagreement over the party’s candidate for the Ijok by-election.

Division leader P. Thirumoorthy, 55, said he was disappointed that party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu had overlooked him for the seat despite his many years of service in the MIC.

"I have been in the party for more than 30 years and the grassroots want me to contest.

"If I am the candidate, there is no need to campaign. We will surely win as I know the people here," he said at a press conference.

The MIC candidate for the seat will be officially announced today about 5pm in Ijok.
It is understood that the candidate will be 38-year-old K. Parthiban, who is Deputy Education Minister Datuk Noh Omar’s special officer in his Tanjung Karang parliamentary constituency.

Thirumoorthy said he would only resign from his division post but remain as a party member.

"I am a loyal supporter of Samy Vellu and will always work for the party. However, the feelings of the grassroots here are very strong. They never consulted us before deciding on the candidate."

He wanted the party leadership to reconsider the decision on the candidate.

Samy Vellu, who was at the MIC service centre just 100 metres away, said the choice of the candidate was up to the party president.

"If he wants to leave, he can do so and I don’t feel threatened about this."

He also refuted Thirumoorthy’s claims of support in many branches, saying he was the division chief only because he had been saved by the party president from the division’s in-fighting.



Former teacher Parthiban, who is single, is currently a co-academic officer at the Kuala Selangor district education department.

He was born in Ladang Raja Musa, Kuala Selangor, and has a Master’s in Education from Universiti Malaya.