MIC ... let it be

Ever since I journeyed into cyberspace and joined the blogging community, I have been inundated by calls to work towards the dissolution of MIC or to join a multi-racial party.

Invariably, the calls come from Malaysians of Indian origin. Why are they so eager to see MIC dissolved?

MCA, Gerakan and Umno suffered equally in the last general election but we seldom hear the Chinese or the Malays asking these parties to close shop.

Is this because the other Barisan Nasional (BN) component parties in Peninsular Malaysia played their role and MIC didn't?

The election results clearly showed that a substantial number of voters were unhappy with the ruling coalition as a whole. Yes, we accept the results and have gone back to the drawing board; as a component party and collectively as a coalition.

Our policies, attitudes and implementation must be reviewed and we intend to set things right.

The noblest argument, put forth by some, as to why MIC should be dissolved is that Malaysia is moving away from race-based politics. While I agree that Malaysia should move away from such politics, but is this the reality on the ground? Are we truly above and beyond race in Malaysia?

Granted that the results of the last election have given us reason to believe so, we must also not forget that 'a single sallow does not a summer make'.

The next general election and the one after will provide clearer indicators. The results from the two elections will determine if 2008 had indeed ushered in a changing trend.

We have multiracial parties in Malaysia, both within BN and Pakatan Rakyat. I salute them. But show me one so-called multi-racial party that has escaped the racial composition of its members.

Each multiracial party has its 'dominant race' and most of the key positions will be held by members of this race while the rest will be accorded ornamental positions to fulfill its quota of multi-racialism.

Are these multiracial parties willing to break free from the racial composition of its members and promote anyone based solely on ability; totally disregarding race?

The party that has a semblance of being multiracial is DAP. I remember it having at different points in time, a Malay, Chinese and an Indian as its chairman. However, that party didn't make much headway until the last election because it lacked the support of Malays. It still sees a need to champion Chinese-based issues to hold on to its Chinese vote bank.

On the other side of the fence, Gerakan made genuine attempts but still could not shake off its Chinese flavour. The reality is that we are still far from race-free politics despite having multi-racial parties.

Returning to MIC.

Who are those calling for the party's dissolution? The most vocal are non-members, people who did not vote for or support MIC to begin with. So what difference does it make to this group if the party continues to exist or otherwise?

What is their exigency in seeing the demise of MIC? Could this be supporters of the opposition who fear that MIC might make a strong comeback in the next polls?

For democracy flourish, is it not wiser to encourage the birth rather than the death of parties? So in that context, let MIC be, as an option for the voters, if not for anything else.

On that note, I would also like to see the same voices on a crusade against race-based parties to call for the dissolution of religious-based parties as well. Religious based parties can be more divisive than race-based parties. Why has this inconvenient truth been ignored?

Once again, allow me to reiterate that I am all for race-free politics and a Malaysia for Malaysians. I regard myself as truly being a Malaysian first above all else. My father is an Indian, my mother a Chinese and I look Malay. And my friends say that when I speak Bahasa Malaysia, I sound like one too. So there you have it.

Some of those calling for MIC's dissolution could be well-meaning, but it is recklessly naïve to call for the dismantling of an Indian-based party when others in the equation are unprepared to do so. Are we on a higher moral ground to dissolve MIC and call for race-free politics? Yes, perhaps. But are we being prudent? A definite NO.

For those who claim that MIC has not done anything for the Indian community, here are some facts and figures.

• MIC, through it education arm MIED, has disbursed over RM85 million in scholarships and study loans to deserving Malaysian Indians over the last 23 years. It is currently assisting 1,200 Malaysian Indians studying all over the world through MIED study loans. Most of these loans are only recovered after legal action is threatened;
• Annually, MIED encourages academic excellence amongst Indian students by identifying and awarding top achievers in UPSR, PMR, SPM and STPM;
• MIED has prepared and printed workbooks for all Tamil School students sitting for the UPSR examination and have distributed these books for free. There has been a marked improvement in the students' achievement since this programme was introduced;
• Tafe College produced tens of thousands of para-professionals. Lets not forget, the setting up of the Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology (AIMST) University in Baling Kedah;
• MIC's social arm, Yayasan Pemulihan Sosial handles an average of thirty social cases per day;
• The party has also facilitated over 4,000 Malaysian Indians to obtain micro-credit loans amounting to RM40 million for business start-ups in 2005 and for another 2,000 Malaysian Indians in 2007.

The above list is not exhaustive but it reveals the socio-political commitment undertaken by MIC. Contrary to allegations, the party did not just sit in a corner doing nothing.

Could we have done more? Perhaps.

The March 8 elections made us sit up and take notice of this. It was a wake-up call that jolted the leaders and members. We have since resolved to relook at our priorities and the way we handle issues.

I acknowledge that keeping silent when one is required to speak up amounts to failure to discharge one's duty as a leader.

Now, when the voters have achieved their objective of opening the eyes of those in power, why are some 'hell-bent' on closing the eyes of the party for good?

There are countless number of MIC Branch Chairmen, Youths, Women, Puteris and Puteras whom have and are genuinely working tirelessly for the sake of the Indian community with no expectations of reward other than to see the progress of the community and the nation.

Reprimand MIC for our mistakes and reprove us if you will, as you did in the last election but please don't allow some loud voices deny the good that we have done.

There are also those who call for MIC president Dato Seri S Samy Vellu to resign in view of the party's poor performance in the general election. Those that make the call should remember that he is the elected president of the party. Whether he resigns or not before the end of his term is his decision to make.

People who call for the dissolution of the party have no right to call for the president to resign as this group only wish to see MIC destroyed. Let the party decide if it needs a new president.

In success and failure alike, no one person is responsible. It's unfair and unbecoming to attribute the failure to one man, no matter how high his post is or how long he has been at the helm. It's easy to go with the tide and blame everything on one man or one party. It takes character to stand against the wave and put things in perspective.

All members of MIC, like in success, also have a share in its failure. I as a Central Working Committee member of MIC and as a former candidate take full responsibility on my part for the poor showing of MIC in the last general election. I will work towards putting things right and I believe, so will my colleagues.

The voters have exercised their democratic right and their sentiment has been duly noted. MIC is looking both inwards and outwards to see what went wrong. If we get our act together by the next election, vote us in. If we don't, vote us out. This is democracy.

Until such a time arrives when all BN component parties decide to merge to form, not only a multi-racial party, but a race-free party, MIC will remain relevant to the community and this nation.

Murugesan Sinnandavar

Central Working Committee Member

MIC

http://s-murugesan.blogspot.com/

Election 2008

" A man should learn to detect and watch that gleam of light which flashes across his mind from within, more than the lustre of the firmament of bards and sages. Yet he dismisses without notice his thought, because it is his. In every work of genius we recognize our own rejected thoughts; they come back to us with a certain alienated majesty. Great works of art have no more affecting lesson for us than this. They teach us to abide by our spontaneous impression with good-humoured inflexibility then most when the whole cry of voices is on the other-side. Else to-morrow a stranger will say with masterly good sense precisely what we thought and felt all the time, and we shall be forced to take with shame our own opinion from another"

- Ralph Waldo Emmerson

Election 2008. As the dust begins to settle, Malaysians, including politicians, are searching for explanations on the how and why. The results are there for all to see. Barisan Nasional (BN) lost its two third majority in Parliament and four states in addition to Kelantan. It came as a "great wave" said some and "it spread like wildfire" lamented others.

But what went wrong and what went right? While the respective post-mortem reveal an array of causes, one thing, however, is certain - democracy went right.

I was the BN candidate for the Subang parliamentary seat. In the past, political pundits regarded this constituency as 'safe'. But nothing was safe from the March 8 Tsunami.

Yes, I lost and yes, it hurt. But I take a little consolation knowing that I was defeated by fellow lawyer R Sivarasa, a credible and respectable adversary.

Although I am upset with the results as other party members are, the people have spoken. And they did so in a thundering voice. So its time for us - on the BN bench - to sit up and listen. We thought we were listening but obviously something was lost in transition. Its time to take stock of what went wrong, as an individual, as a party and as a coalition.

Are the results of Election 2008 merely a collective venting of anger by the voters or is it part of the changing landscape of Malaysian politics?

If it is the venting of anger, then the signs have been there.

Alarms have been raised but were either ignored or reasoned away. The saying "beware of the fury of a patient man" resonates yet again. Issues that gave rise to the anger must be looked into with fresh eyes, open mind and resolved at it's fundamental level.

If the election results is part of the evolving Malaysian political landscape, then we as a party and a coalition must change to keep up with and if possible, stay ahead of the trend. Change is easier said than done. Harder still is to be attuned enough to detect it.

Often changes happen in small increment that it is seldom noticed until it stares us right in the face. The need for change stands before us like a mountain now. Change we shall or perish we will. Of course the question is about what needs to be changed and how.

However, what is right within the party must be reinforced.

I, like many other members, joined MIC to work to uplift the community. I am convinced that this is still the spirit and motive of most of its members. That being the case, where did we lose the plot?

I have my own thoughts on most of these issues but right now, as an individual and a member of MIC, I would like to hear the views of the people we represent, painful as it may be in some cases.

The ultimate ownership of MIC rests in the community. We party members are merely the stakeholders who hold it in trust on your behalf.

Murugesan Sinnandavar