MIC Youth To Recruit Additional 50,000 Members, Says Samy Vellu

KUALA LUMPUR, July 3 (Bernama) -- More than 50,000 Indian youths are expected to be recruited by the "re-energised" MIC Youth wing by the end of the year, bringing the total membership of the movement to 150,000.

MIC president Datuk Seri S.Samy Vellu said Thursday that the new coordinator of the youth wing, T.Mohan, 35, had been entrusted with the task. Currently, the MICs membership stands at 630,000, with 100,000 members from the youth wing.



"The Youth wing will embark on a nationwide recruitment exercise to register at least 50,000 new members by the end of the year," Samy Vellu told a news conference after chairing the partys Central Working Committee (CWC) meeting here.

He said the "re-energised and more youthful" wing of the MIC would chart a new strategy to woo more youngsters to join the party.

Mohan took over the movements top post from S.A.Vigneswaran, 42, had to vacate the post last month because the MIC constitution states that MIC youth leaders who have reached the age of 41 years must vacate their posts in the wing.

Mohan, who is the MIC Youth Social and Welfare Bureau chief, contested and lost the Batu Caves state seat in Selangor on the Barisan Nasional ticket in the last general election while Vigneswaran lost the Bukit Raja parliamentary seat in Selangor.

Last June 29, Vigneswaran quit the MIC in protest of the CWC ruling on the holding of posts by youth leaders who had attained the age of 41.

Samy Vellu said Mohan would be assisted by S.Murugesan, a CWC member and a former Youth national committee member. Murugesan too lost when he contested the Subang parliamentary seat in the last general election.

He said Mohan and Murugesan would run the movement based on the advice of the newly-formed National MIC Youth Advisory Council headed by S.Ramis who had to vacate the MIC Youth deputy chief post due to the age limit ruling.

"Mohan and Murugesan will be the coordinator and deputy coordinator respectively until the next Youth wing elections in the middle of next year," Samy Vellu said.

He said that after the election of the new MIC Youth chief next year, the posts of coordinator and deputy coordinator would be discontinued.

He said the CWC would stick to its ruling on the age limit for the Youth wing. "We want to give opportunities to the thousands of youths out there who want to serve the party," he said, adding that the Youth wing "must look and act like a youth movement".

He said many youths had complained that the Youth wing was not representing the youths who, they said, should be 40 years and below.

-- BERNAMA