MIC opening political school to groom future leaders

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 22 ― The MIC is in the midst of opening a political school in Port Dickson to nurture and train future leaders from among its 400,000 members, its youth chief Datuk C. Sivarraajh has revealed.

The Cameron Highlands MP ― one of only two MIC lawmakers to survive the May 9 political purge ― said the school was one of the efforts undertaken by Barisan Nasional (BN) components to identify the strengths of their individual members to rebuild after the bruising 14th general election.

“See now, just three months after the election, the shock is still there. So what we are doing now, we are trying different models.

“For example, like MCA using their own logo to contest in Balakong. We are trying multiple strategies to see which will suit us,” Sivarraajh told Malay Mail in an exclusive interview.

He said the MIC had overlooked the strength of its membership base to win the trust of voters in GE14.

Sivarraajh added that the school aimed to teach political aspirants how to effectively handle challenges, especially now that the landscape has changed and the BN is now in the Opposition as Pakatan Harapan (PH) parties hold federal power.

“So that's why in the last discussion with my president, I told him and he also agreed. We are going to have a political school now,” he said, referring to MIC’s president Tan Sri SA Vigneswaran who is also Dewan Negara Speaker.

Sivarraajh said that the school would use “political science” modules, which will teach its students how to write press statements and to think like an Opposition member.

He said the building for the school was given to MIC by a businessman and it is currently undergoing renovation.

Sivarraajh said he is one of the trainers, adding that the list will be finalised later. Training will begin next year as the party has internal elections this October. Lessons will be free for MIC members.

He said MIC also plans to use the school to conduct weekend political classes.

“Say today, we are going to talk about Malaysia's economy and how to counter allegations. We will then distribute messages to all our members and they can come attend the class,” Sivarraajh said.

“We need to be ready to face Pakatan in all circumstances. This school will help strengthen our party position and to keep check and balances on the current government.”

He acknowledged that the BN will “have to work” with the PH government, but it will also keep a close watch and “remind them” when it makes mistakes.

He emphasised that the PH coalition’s electoral victory was not based on its own strength, but on voter dissatisfaction with the previous BN administration.

He saw the school as necessary to prepare MIC members for future elections when voters will elect the government of the day based on their track record.

“So now we know, so we have to strengthen our party. If anything happens, we have our 400,000 members, and they can deliver,” Sivarraajh said.