Kuala Lumpur – Deputy Chief Minister of Penang and DAP stalwart Prof Dr P.Ramasamy continued today with his critical comments on MIC. He posted an article on his facebook page titled “Crisis, endemic to MIC!”.
Below is the full text of his facebook posting:-
“It is an oxymoron that say “no end in sight for MIC leadership crisis”.
Why simply because the party unlike others, have simply moved from one crisis another, all related to leadership, power, position and money.
To say that there is no end to crisis in MIC again means that there is expectation from some quarters that somehow or rather with the right mix of leadership, understanding and commitment to assist Indians, crisis will evaporate in the party.
Crisis leadership or not, is an inescapable aspect of MIC politics. To wish away crisis, suggest that we are either naive or simply have not followed the vicissitudes of the party for the last 60 years or so.
The party, MIC, had its humble beginnings in the immediate aftermath of the World War 2. It was strong nationalistic party modelled after the Congress Party in India to represent Indians in Malaya.
When MIC joined the Alliance coalition in the 1950s, the party began to loose all its progressive qualities. With the ascension of V. T. Sambanthan, as the party leader, the MIC became much more a Tamil party rather than an Indian one.
While Sambanthan made some definite contributions to the party in formation of the NLCFS, the seeds of political decay in the party began when Manickavasgam succeeded him as the president of MIC. From then on, MIC under presidents Samy Vellu, Palanivel and presently Subramaniam, have done nothing to uplift the poor Indian community. Most of the time, valuable time and energy were spend on managing leadership crisis. There was little time for the Indian community!
The current MIC president might rule out negotiations with the members of the Palanivel camp, but one thing is sure, peace will never return to MIC.
Given the disconnect between the MIC leaders and grassroots Indians, there is nothing that the party can do to address the growing political, social and economic problems faced by the Indian community.
Sooner or late, sad to say, Indians just have to say farewell to the MIC and move on with other political forces to ensure that they have stake in the future of the country.
As long as UMNO is the dominant political force, political parties like the MIC, Gerakan and MCA will neither have the courage or independence to represent their respective communities.
Isn’t it time for Indians with self-respect and dignity to say a final good-bye to MIC? Whether the party is around or not, it is not going to make any difference to the future of Indians. However, some might want to the party to remain for a while as a “living proof” of how the Indian should not be represented!”
