THE MIC today launched a nationwide evaluation exercise on its leaders at all levels aimed at creating a "winning team" and organising programmes cutting across racial lines to face the next general election.

Party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said the MIC was determined to "reinvent and re-energise" the party to remain relevant and wrest back the six parliamentary and 12 states seats it lost in the last general election.

He said the evaluation process would be done through a high-level Balanced Score Card (BSC), Key Performance Indicators (KPI) and Star-Rating "that will now steer the party's direction towards a people-centric party through its internal transformations and reform".

Speaking to reporters after launching a workshop on "A Sense of Urgency" for the party's 150 divisional leaders here, Samy Vellu said the three evaluation initiatives marked another milestone in MIC's effort to remain relevant and to reinvent itself as a progressive, caring and innovative party.

"After the last general election, the MIC has undergone various and numerous changes to reconnect with the people and the community by engaging in rebranding exercises, introducing new and young blood into the party as well as bringing about party liberalisation reforms to attract new members into the party," he said.

He said the BSC would consist of six perspectives encompassing various areas of paramount importance such as internal party efficiency, developing a creative delivery system, engaging with the people through timely and on need-based programmes and assistance, winning back and attracting new members, gauging people's satisfaction and the 1Malaysia perspective.

He said the members' perspective would focus on sustaining current members, attracting new members, winning over members and conversion of members who were non-voters into legitimate voters while the people's perspective would consist of outreach programmes, economic well-being initiatives, education and business
ventures.

In line with the national agenda of 1Malaysia, Samy Vellu said, the MIC had included the concept in the BSC to undertake programmes that would strengthen unity and understanding among the various races.

He said a committee had been set up to implement the three initiatives (BSC, KPI and Star-Rating) and evaluate the party leaders every three months.

"With this initiative, the MIC has elevated its seriousness and commitment to reach out to every Indian in Malaysia utilising its proven system and structure nationwide.

"Indeed, it is expected to position MIC as a dynamic, caring and as a people-centric party by making all its grassroots leaders more responsible and accountable to the community as well as the party," he said.