The CWC appointed S Ananthan, a former political secretary to Ismail Sabri Yaakob during his tenure as prime minister, as the new secretary-general.

Ananthan was previously a senator and is currently the Kedah MIC chairman.

When contacted, Rajasekaran confirmed the matter but said no specific reason had been given for the change.

“It’s best that you ask the party president (SA Vigneswaran),” he told FMT when asked for the reason for his replacement.

Rajasekaran was appointed as MIC secretary-general in November 2021 after the previous party elections.

A source told FMT that his removal was linked to issues that arose during the party elections last month.

Meanwhile, Vigneswaran said leadership changes following party elections are routine, and that there was no controversy surrounding Rajasekaran’s replacement.

“Rajasekaran remains my good friend and the party thanks him for carrying out a good job in keeping the party elections clean. He remains a CWC member,” he said when contacted by FMT.

The CWC also reinstated the membership of former Puchong division chief Awtar Singh with immediate effect after he had apologised for his actions.

He was removed after he used social media to attack MIC leaders on certain issues related to the party elections.

Vigneswaran said MIC is open to welcoming back former members who wish to rejoin the party, adding that the party is currently reviewing appeals from several of them.