Shouldn’t MIC’s place in the BN be reconsidered?

It is bound to happen –when you have a leader far too long at the helm of a political party, it mutates into his personal property. Saaaamyyy Velluuuu is still around when Ling Liong Sik and Dr Mahathir have already long given up their post to some other presidents.

The latest “amat biadap, kurang ajar, tak sedar diri” statement by one unknown MIC delegate to garland Tun with slippers may just be the straw that breaks the camel’s back. Not only UMNO leaders, but many BN members and non-partisan citizens are very upset with Samy Vellu, MIC and that unknown worm from somewhere.

I was flabbergasted when the papers reported that Samy Vellu said “outsiders” should not comment on MIC elections referring to Tun Mahathir’s statement. Hello, Datuk Samy, Tun Mahathir is not an outsider, he is a statesman and he can certainly comment on anything he wants. You have a right to accept or reject but you certainly do not have the right to be rude unless you can survive outside the Barisan Nasional. (which many believe you cannot.). This is the man that lost the Sungai Siput election right?

I recall reading this:

“With the damming defeat, the MIC now becomes the only party, with its top leaders -- president, deputy president (Datuk G. Palanivel) and three-vice presidents (Datuk S. Sothinathan, Datuk S. Veerasingam and Tan Sri Dr K.S. Nijhar) -- will not have parliamentary seats to their names”.
http://www.bernama.com/bernama/v5/newsindex.php?id=319468


The anger that MIC has succeeded in causing over the blogosphere can be seen from some of the posts like below:

Syed Akbar Ali says:

“Someone should tell loud mouth Samy that Tun Dr Mahathir has every right to comment on anything and everything in this country. As an elder statesman Dr Mahathir certainly has the right to say what he wants”. http://syedsoutsidethebox.blogspot.com/

Read also:

http://apanama2020.blogspot.com/2009/09/who-is-bloody-bastard.html

http://bigdogdotcom.wordpress.com/2009/09/15/sudah-sampai-masa-bn-kaji-semula-kedudukan-mic/

In my mingling, I find that top UMNO leaders are upset with the slippers incident and some have gone public with their views:

http://www.nst.com.my/Current_News/NST/articles/20090914202053/Article:

"Razali, who is also the Deputy Minister of Youth and Sports, said Umno Youth felt that "such an act does not help to divert public attention from the actual position of the MIC. Respect must be earned and not demanded."

http://www.utusan.com.my/utusan/info.asp?y=2009&dt=0915&pub=Utusan_Malaysia&sec=Muka_Hadapan&pg=mh_01.htm

"Naib Presiden UMNO, Datuk Seri Hishammuddin Tun Hussein berkata, jika pun ada perkara yang tidak dipersetujui dengan kenyataan bekas Perdana Menteri itu atau mana-mana pemimpin sekalipun, seharusnya asal usul, peradaban dan nilai sesuatu bangsa tidak harus dilupakan".


"Ketua UMNO Bahagian Cheras, Datuk Syed Ali Alhabshee dalam kenyataan akhbarnya turut mendesak MIC meminta maaf secara terbuka kepada Dr. Mahathir, orang Melayu dan ahli UMNO keseluruhannya.

''Saya cabar Presiden MIC, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, jika dia benar-benar ikhlas supaya memohon maaf bagi pihak MIC di atas sikap kurang ajar perwakilan tersebut".

http://thoughtsintangents.blogspot.com/2009/09/mic-now-in-real-trouble.html

Akram Shah who feels that MIC is now in trouble answers his own question: “

So to my own question, whether MIC is in real trouble now, I would say yes it is! With DS Samy's grip on the party clear, the community may give up on a political solution to its woes and look for alternatives. The alternative may be political, but in this case, DS Samy's likely right in guessing an Indian political rival to MIC is some years in coming. However, Indians may choose to move primarily through community NGOs, like the Chinese, which would risk making MIC an irrelevance.
That Hindraf rose to prominence so quickly, putting aside its racist rhetoric, dramatic claims and mob behaviour, is indicative of not just the role NGOs can fulfill but also the readiness of the Indian community to support them!

Questions have been asked for long: how relevant is MIC in uplifting the woes of the marginalized Indians? The Hindraf episode shocked the Nation with the plight of the Indians being exposed and the dislike substantial number of Indians has for MIC.

Probably it is time for Barisan Nasional to work out a different formula for Indian representation in the Government and to address the problems peculiar to the Indian community without the MIC.

And one more thing: Samy Vellu must publicly apologize to Tun Dr Mahathir if he wants to dispel the rumors that this event is stage-managed to deflect MIC’s internal woes and decline.

Peace!