George Town – In his facebook posting today Penang’s Deputy Chief Minister and DAP stalwart Prof Dr P.Ramasamy, referring to MIC President Datuk Seri Dr S.Subramaniam’s statement, told MIC to do more than merely “regretting” and also questioned the status of the Cabinet Committee that was set-up under Najib Tun Razak when he was the Deputy Prime Minister.
In another open letter, former Law Minister Datuk Zaid Ibrahim also asked about the Cabinet Committee under Prime Minister Najib.
Below is the full text of Dr. Ramasamy’s posting on his facebook page:-
“Can the MIC President S. Subramaniam only say that the party is very disappointed over the Court of Appeals decision that overturned the unilateral conversion of Indira Gandhi’s three children.
Has he got nothing else useful to say to the Malaysian public and to the Hindus in the country. What is going on in the government? Why is he giving such a pathetic statement when the MIC should have pressured the Cabinet to do something about the growing threat of unilateral conversions!
He said that the Court of Appeals verdict reopened the Pandora’s Box on the vulnerability of a non-Muslim parent. He further added that attempt to remedy the situation from 2009 failed due to various reasons. But to date, he has not given the reasons why attempts to nullify unilateral conversions have failed?
Subramaniam as a Minister in the Cabinet of Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak should not confine himself to issuing statements on the Indira Gandhi matter. Now, what has he done to revive the Cabinet committee that was set up in 2009?
After the 2013 general elections, a similar committee was formed with Nancy Shukri and Jamil Khir Baharom as the co-chairs of this committee. Subramaniam was appointed to this committee. What was the progress of this committee on the question of unilateral conversions? How come the 2009 Cabinet decision that forbade the conversion of children below 18 years if they were born to parents who were not Muslims was never implemented in the first place?
While Subramaniam says that MIC is committed to final a solution, but then nothing concrete has resulted. What is going to be the final solution? This is the same old song that the former MIC president S. Samy Vellu sang for more than two decades.
Unlike Subramaniam who appears to be timid, Samy was loud and aggressive. While he promised the “heaven” for Indians, he delivered nothing to the poor and marginalised community. Subramaniam is closely following the footsteps of his former predecessor with disastrous implications!
Isn’t it a shame on Subramaniam to merely say that he regrets the Court of Appeal’s verdict, when he and other Cabinet members could have done something to arrest the rot that is taking place in the country? He could have worked hard to get the support of the MCA, Gerakan and other sympathetic Cabinet members from the Sabah and Sarawak.
But then, if the non-Malay component parties could not even stop the amendments to the Constitution in 1988 that forbade the civil courts from adjudicating matters concerning Islam that was reserved for the Syariah Court, then we don’t expect much from these BN “clowns” on the matter of Indira Gandhi.
We don’t expect the MIC to perform wonders, the Indian community is fully aware of this. But surely, Subramaniam could have updated the community about the steps that MIC had taken to resolve the dilemma faced by Indira Gandhi. It is no use to “cry over spilled milk”, as an old saying goes.
After 2013 elections, MIC had two full ministers. However, given the infighting in the MIC, Najib decided to give only one to the MIC and that this was given to Subramaniam. Subramaniam in the eyes of Najib is more amenable to UMNO’s control rather than G. Palanivel, the former president.
Subramaniam, sad to say, lacks the passion, commitment and dedication to fight for the cause of poor Indians. The case of the unilateral conversion of Indira Gandhi’s children is testimony to the sorrow state of affairs of the Indian community and how the MIC, the “sole” representative has failed the community tragically and miserably!”
