One late evening, just a few months after the historic March 2008 general election, S Samy Vellu received a familiar visitor at his residence in Jalan Ipoh, Kuala Lumpur.The 74-year-old MIC supremo listened calmly as the visitor, his former political secretary S Ananthan, told him that his time was up, that he must quit active politics and let another leader of his choice take over the reins of the largest party for Malaysian Indians.
Ananthan told “the Boss” that the longer he clung on to power the harder would be his fall from grace; he would suffer the contempt not only of Indians but of other Malaysians as well.Samy Vellu, with his son Vel Paari sitting by his side, stayed quiet and collected to the end of Ananthan’s monologue. When it was over, he spoke only one sentence: "I will go in a few months, when the time is right."He finally quit last week, after leading the party for nearly 31 years.
“I feel very happy that I am leaving my job to Palanivel, and Palanivel will leave his job to Subramaniam,” he said, referring to Deputy Minister of Plantation Industries G Palanivel and Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam. Palanivel moved up from the party’s deputy presidency and Subramaniam from the vice-presidency.
MIC’s highest decision-making body, the central working committee, has entrusted the two to guide the party for the next two years, including spearheading it into the 13th general election. They are expected to charm the Indians back to the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN). Until the shock of 2008, BN thought it could always count on the Indian vote, some say to the extent of taking the community for granted for 50 years.
It will be tough for Palanivel and Subramaniam. Although the Indians for a long time did look to MIC as their saviour, they are now deeply divided, at least politically. There are six political parties claiming to represent Malaysian Indians, who number about 1.8 million.
A bad word
On Nov 25, 2007, just four months before the election that resulted in BN losing five states and its two-thirds majority in Parliament, the then little known Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) managed to amass some 60,000 Malaysian Indians at the Kuala Lumpur City Centre to protest against racial discrimination allegedly institutionalised by the ruling coalition.While it blamed the Malaysian government and the British Empire for the suffering of the Indians, Hindraf also lashed out at MIC for being part of BN and not doing enough for the community.
MIC became a bad word to Malaysians, including the Indians. Even its members and erstwhile supporters decided that they had had enough of MIC and began joining opposition parties. At the same time, Samy Vellu went on a rampage, throwing out several grassroots leaders out of the party for "working against the interest of the party”.
Many observers were amazed that the authorities did not seem to comprehend the extent of support that Hindraf had among the Indians and the seething anger of the community. The government decided to get tough. It declared Hindraf illegal and imprisoned five of its leaders under the Internal Security Act.The five, virtually unknown until then, became instant heroes and household names after this senseless action.
On March 8, 2008, the Indians used the ballot to express their disgust with BN. They swung to the opposition parties, giving their votes even to candidates of the Islamist party, PAS.Now, after more than two years, the dust seems to have settled and the political picture has become clearer. In addition to the six Indian-based political parties, there are a host of non-governmental organisations claiming to champion the rights of the community. Of the six parties, four are pro-BN.The current BN government seems to be more receptive and sensitive to Indian issues. It looks as though the community has found its footing and the BN is confident of recapturing Indian hearts.
Tough questions
But what about MIC, which seems to have lost its relevance? How can it reinvent itself? How can it mend the split among the Indians and place them under one political umbrella, like in the old days? How will it face the 13th general election?The Palanivel-Subramaniam team needs to be practical in answering these tough questions. Words will not be enough. The Indians have become too politically sophisticated to be moved by mere rhetoric.
The 61-year-old Palanivel has to show that he – as well as MIC – is out of Samy Vellu's shadow. He must offer the olive branch to the leaders that Samy Vellu sacked. He must try to attract splinter groups back into the MIC fold. The leadership he heads must operate in a more transparent manner. The party must be more inclusive, allowing more Indians, especially the highly educated, to come on board. Above all, Palanivel must prove to the BN leadership that he is capable of delivering the Indian votes.
And the journalist-turned-politician must do all this without irking present MIC members or leaders. It will not be easy. And time is short.He must be bold in action, however drastic. He must be seen to be robust but at the same time sensitive to the plight of the community. He must not distance himself from important issues, whether they are Indian-related or broader national issues. He must address them, head-on if necessary.
He must win the hearts, minds and trust of the Indian labourer as well as the Indian professional.There is no honeymoon for the new president of the 630,000-member MIC. He must be seen as a strong leader, no matter how hard this is with Samy Vellu always hovering in the background
Source : http://www.freemalaysiatoday.com/fmt-english/politics/barisan-nasional/14119-no-honeymoon-for-palanivel
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