Datuk Kalai no longer MIC member since arrested as part of Gang 360 Devan

PETALING JAYA: Businessman and politician Datuk Kalai Arasu Muniandy is no longer attached to the MIC.
According to a source close to the party leadership, Kalai Arasu, 45, or Kajang Kalai as he is popularly known, had been part of the faction led by former party president Datuk Seri G. Palanivel during the party's recent crisis.
"During the party crisis those who were with the opposing team were not recognised as party members with their membership deemed null and void.
"However, after it ended, some of the leaders from the opposing faction including Datuk S. Sothinathan had decided to rejoin the party.
"So did Kalai Arasu," the source who spoke on the condition of anonymity told theSun when contacted, yesterday.
However, his plan was scuppered before his application could go through.
The 45-year-old was among 30 men believed to be members of Gang 360 Devan who were charged at the Kajang Sessions court, today, under the Security Offences and Special Measures Act (Sosma) for alleged involvement in organised crime activities.
He was charged under Section 130V1 of the Penal Code for offences related to organised crime, which carries a maximum 20 years jail term if convicted.
Kalai Arasu who reportedly joined MIC in 2000 and had served as the MIC's Hulu Langat division Youth chief for more than a decade.
He was also a member of the MIC national youth council and the treasurer of Selangor MIC Youth
He was shot three times by two unknown assailants on a motorcycle while sitting in a coffeeshop in Kajang in 2010.
Hospitalised for two weeks, Kalai Arasu survived his ordeal. His brother M. Thanabalan also reportedly survived a gun attack in 2013.
Despite being listed as the leader of Gang 36 in a list purportedly issued by the Home Ministry during Ops Cantas in 2013, Kalai Arasu has always denied links to the underworld.