MIC campaign workers mobilised

REPORT
KUALA LUMPUR: NOW that it is almost certain that the Barisan Nasional candidate for the Hulu Selangor Parliamentary seat would be from MIC, party campaigners are rearing to go with renewed vigor.

“We are undivided in our support for whoever MIC nominates to stand there and we are ready to roll our party election machinery,” said information chief P.Kamalanathan (pic).

With the announcement earlier today by Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak that the candidate will be from the MIC, party supporters say it can be no other than deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel who only lost by 0.04 per cent in the last elections to PKR’s Datuk Dr Zainal.Abidin Ahmad.

The latter succumbed to brain tumor on March 25.

“He is the right candidate and he has served the constituents for many years. He was there even after he was beaten in the 2008 polls, serving the people,” said Kamalanathan, who is also MIC Putera national coordinator.

Asked if he had any regrets since he was also tipped to be in the running, the popular blogger noted that he never held any ambition of running for the Hulu Selangor seat.”

“Besides, Palanivel is the most senior candidate in the party and he has the credentials and he is popular among the people in Hulu Selangor “

Asked if the party machinery was ready to face the barrage of questions people are going to throw at them during the campaign, Kamalanathan admitted that it was going to be difficult.

“But we are prepared. All wings of the party had a meeting last night chaired by party secretary general S. Murugesan and I too were there.”

At the meeting we briefed the leaders at the grassroots levels and the campaign staff how to go about explaining the issues which are bound to crop up, he explained.

He said the party expects the opposition to play up Goods Services Tax and how it will burden the rakyat and ridicule the Gagasan 1Malaysia concept.

“We are prepared and the campaigners have been thoroughly briefed how to handle hard hitting questions,” he added.

Nomination is on April 17 and polling on April 25.

Earlier today the prime minister told participants of a Selangor BN convention in Shah Alam that coalition would uphold the team spirit in determining which party gets to contest a seat and as for Hulu Selangor, the seat belonged to the MIC

He also noted that he did not want BN component parties to be too calculative in the selection of candidate because the ultimate aim was a BN victory