KLANG: Barely a day after he announced that he plans to run for the MIC presidency, Klang division chief Alex Thiagarasan received a show-cause letter for acting in a manner detrimental to the party yesterday.

Thiagarasan said he had 14 days to explain to the party disciplinary committee why action should not be taken against him.

He said at least seven branch chairmen had also received show-cause letters asking them to explain their reasons for supporting him.

The letter from the committee stated that a complaint had been received about an article in a Tamil daily on May 25, in which Thiagarasan had said party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu had misappropriated Telekom shares allocated by the government, as well as government funds allocated for Tafe College and the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology.

The letter also noted that in an article in the New Straits Times, Thiagarasan had said Samy Vellu was not an asset to the MIC or Barisan Nasional.

The committee also said it had received a complaint that Thiagarasan had not remitted all of the funds collected by the division for the new MIC headquarters building fund.

"This is typical of Samy Vellu. He gets rid of anyone who is a threat to his leadership," Thiagarasan said.

"This proves that nothing has changed in the MIC, despite its so-called re-branding exercise."

On the money for the building fund, Thiagarasan said the division had unanimously agreed during its annual general meeting last month that it would be returned to all branch chairmen. So far RM30,000 of the RM37,000 collected had been returned.

He added that the committee could only take action against him for putting the party in a bad light if his accusations were proven to be baseless.

"I'm standing by my statement. I will not back down despite the threat of action against me."

Thiagarasan said the police and the Anti-Corruption Agency should be allowed to do their jobs before the committee finds him guilty of any wrongdoing.

Some branch chairmen said it would be a great loss to the party if Thiagarasan was sacked "because he is among the very few who dares stand up to the president".

Thiagarasan also said he plans to sue a branch chairman for RM10 million for defamation over an article in a Tamil daily yesterday.

"He called me a refugee, saying I came to MIC before I got sacked from the People's Progressive Party.

"He should know that I was invited to join the MIC by Samy Vellu. MIC had a function in Stadium Melawati to welcome me and the 24,000 people I brought in from PPP."

He said Samy Vellu even garlanded him on that occasion, but "it looks like many have short memories. Just check the newspapers".

As Selangor PPP chairman, Thiagarasan led the mass walkover to MIC on Aug 31, 1999.