Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email “If I just leave the party now, the party will go into disarray. It is not that I’m going to be there for 100 years. I don’t (think I can) live for 100 years. Everybody’s time to go will come,” he said.
Well, what does one expect if not control? Chaos!
Samy still very much in control of MIC
ANALYSIS By A. LETCHUMANAN
The 71-year-old president will continue to lead the party for another term with a promise to rejuvenate the MIC, that has named 14 new faces for this general election.
THE hordes of newsmen and supporters, numbering more than 100, had expected tears of joy and cries of disappointment when MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu announced the list of his party candidates on Wednesday. But this time, only the shortlisted incumbents and the new candidates were called into the conference room for a briefing before the line-up was presented to the gathered newsmen. In previous occasions, the announcement would be packed with party supporters who cheer as the names are announced. The supporters would then garland the candidates. This time, the garlands of flowers were conspicuously missing.
The crucial question on the minds of many, especially foreign media representatives, was whether the 71-year-old Samy Vellu would contest at Sungai Siput, where he has been contesting the parliamentary seat since 1974. To this, Samy Vellu firmly said that Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi had approved the MIC list and his candidacy.
The MIC is fielding 14 new faces – two for parliament and 12 for state seats – from a total of nine parliament and 19 state seats it is contesting. It is believed that Samy Vellu’s indication that this would be his last term had gone down well with the Barisan Nasional leadership. Officials said the Barisan leadership was quite happy with the list proposed by Samy Vellu.
At the press conference, Samy Vellu did not elaborate on this but said his priority was to ensure that the confidence of Indians in MIC remained intact despite adverse newspaper reports. “I am confident that the Indian community will still back the MIC and Barisan as they are aware of the need for Indian representation in the Government,” he said.
Samy Vellu who had come under pressure from outsiders since the Nov 25 rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force, had indicated that a 100% win in the general election could be achieved with some hard work. On whether he would take responsibility if the MIC failed to win in some of the seats, he said it did not need to be like that. “If I just leave the party now, the party will go into disarray. It is not that I’m going to be there for 100 years. I don’t (think I can) live for 100 years. Everybody’s time to go will come,” he said.
He also said that the MIC would be reorganised to make it more effective and efficient in meeting the needs and demands of the Indian community, adding that the changing of the leaders was part of a cleaning exercise to make the party more relevant to the Indians. “The party will change its course to work effectively to resolve the problems facing the community,” he said.
Samy Vellu said education would continue to be the main thrust of the party this year, with the official opening of the RM580mil Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST), a university owned by the MIC. Another unfinished business is the construction of a new headquarters building for MIC in Damansara, to be launched this year.
Meanwhile, it is learnt that Samy Vellu had spent endless hours in deciding on the list and had made changes several times before coming out with the final copy. Sources said Samy Vellu was very secretive and had kept the proposed list close to his heart and never gave any indication of the changes he was planning to make.
While pondering over the list of candidates, Samy Vellu had also to contend with some leaders attempting to seek an appointment to try and regain their seats after learning that they might be dropped.
One assemblyman who tearfully pleaded and regained his seat in 2004, said that he should be given another chance in this election as he was denied the opportunity to carry out his work by the “politics” in the state MIC.
A group of people went to his house, wanting Samy Vellu to consider Gombak division chairman G. Jayakumar for the Batu Caves state seat rather than giving it to an outsider. Samy Vellu, however, ticked them off, saying that the seat belonged to the party and not the division. “If we were to abide by it, then many MIC leaders would not be able to contest in the elections. I myself would not be able to go to Sungai Siput to contest,” he said.
One MIC official said the people who went failed to understand the party president as he is averse to those “challenging his powers”. “They failed to understand that they would not be able to gain anything by holding the party to ransom. “He would rather have them thrown out than accommodate them,” he said, citing the case of Kuala Selangor division chairman P. Thirumoorthy.
(Last year, Thirumoorthy caused an uproar when he said he wanted to contest the Ijok by-election although teacher K. Parthiban had been chosen. Thirumoorthy later quit MIC and joined the People’s Progressive Party.)
This election, the endorsement of the Indian votes for MIC would strengthen them as well as spur them to strive harder for the betterment of the Indian community.
