Time for others to lead MIC

Time for others to lead the MIC
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QUESTION TIME BY P. GUNASEGARAM
After 30 years of being MIC president, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu should make way for fresher faces for the sake of the party, the Barisan Nasional and the Indian community.THERE is one strong reason for Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu to step down as MIC president: He has been there far too long – not 10, not 20 but 30 tedious, tiresome, tortuous and twisted years from 1979.If that is not sufficient reason for Samy Vellu to gracefully exit in favour of younger, fresher blood to revitalise the party and achieve what he could not during that 30 years, he should take a good, hard look at his tenure.Should he still decide not to go away, but to run for president and get re-elected due to the party’s lop-sided autocratic rules and the iron hand he has on the delegates, many of whom he helped put in place, he will see more Indians deserting the MIC.It is heartening to note that there is at least one challenger – former MIC vice-president M. Muthupa­laniappan, who has announced he will take Samy Vellu on in the March polls. But he needs 50 nominations from branches to contest. Right now, his chances are slim.The argument that the party should decide would be valid if nominations only required one branch to propose and another to second, there was no high-handedness in the way the president handled those who would vote, and the entire process was democratic and free from manipulation.On some counts at least, there are serious doubts. That would mean Samy Vellu could win the election even if he did not enjoy support from the majority of MIC members, simply because delegates could vote differently from the wishes of members.He should exercise some degree of statesmanship by stepping aside and letting the party and its delegates decide on the next rung of leadership without any influence by him. That would open up the avenue for new talent to come up within the party.Bear in mind that the MIC followed many of the measures that Umno took after the 1987 Umno elections when its then president Datuk Seri (now Tun) Dr Mahathir Mohamad came within a whisker of losing his position to Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah.Subsequently, a new Umno was set up with new rules and regulations that allowed Dr Mahathir to maintain an iron grip on the party and to weed out dissension. Samy followed Dr Mahathir’s example at the MIC.But while Dr Mahathir is now gone after 22 years at the helm of Umno, Samy Vellu hangs on despite the MIC’s and Barisan Nasional’s worst showing ever at the March 8 general election.For Barisan, this considerably reduces its chances of winning back the Indian votes they lost in the general election in a dramatic turn when an estimated 85% support from the community in previous elections turned to 85% disapproval instead.That 180° turn in Indian support for Barisan caused the party to lose many seats in Parliament and state assemblies in areas where the Indian swing vote was important, including what was considered Samy Vellu’s once impregnable fortress of Sungai Siput in Perak.The turn-about arose out of mounting dissatisfaction from the Indian community; that it was being rapidly sidelined and kept out of mainstream development. Most social problems are among Indians, the highest crime rate is among them, a disproportionate number of Indians form the working class – the list goes on.On top of this, Indians felt threatened by the actions of some state governments and officials when old temples, which have stood in some cases for decades, were summarily demolished with the MIC standing by watching helplessly.The now outlawed Hindu Rights Action Force or Hindraf, some of whose members are still in detention under the Internal Security Act, gained currency among the community because it was prepared to stand up strongly against some of the perceived injustices.Rough police action against Hindraf-organised demonstrations prominently displayed on the Internet before the elections, turned Indians further against the Govern­ment and caused them to question deeply how much the Government had looked after them.If Samy Vellu continues to head the MIC, it is easy to predict one outcome: The Indians will head for the door and will look for alternative parties to represent them. Since they can’t find that in Barisan, they will look for it among the Opposition and non-governmental organisations.Samy Vellu staying on will prevent Barisan from re-mobilising Indian support and will put it at a serious disadvantage in terms of its aims of checking the rapid gains the Pakatan Rakyat coalition made in the last election.The MIC’s record under Samy Vellu has been abysmal. On many counts it was unable to dissuade the Government from taking action against the interests of the community.The MIC was powerless to prevent an influx of cheap foreign labour into estates, which directly impacted the hundreds of thousands of Indian plantation workers who were pushed out of their green ghettoes to become squatters in towns.Samy Vellu, to concentrate power on himself, traded the two Cabinet positions the MIC traditionally had for one full minister and two deputies, making him the only representative of Indians in the Cabinet.His attempt to increase Indian corporate participation through Maika Holdings is in total shambles, with many Indian families having lost their savings forever through investments in this failed company.He was powerless to stop the indiscriminate destruction of temples by some Barisan state governments. That’s just a short list.If Samy Vellu is really interested in the welfare of the Indian community, he should step aside and let someone else take over. He had 30 years to do what was needed – if he could not, he should just go away. A day more is just one day too many.Despite winning their parliamentary seats, Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi is stepping down as Umno chief, while Datuk Seri Ong Ka Ting already has at the MCA. It’s left for Samy Vellu, who lost his seat, to do so at the MIC, the third prong in the original Alliance troika that led this country to independence. P. Gunasegaram is managing editor of The Star. He notes 30 years is long enough for a leader to be born and bred, literally.