Press Statement by Charles Santiago in Klang on
Wednesday, 31st December 2008:
Oh Samy!
Maybe long-time MIC chief S. Samy
Vellu is acutely aware of the thickening master plot to oust him from
power. Maybe he feels threatened. Maybe he wants to divert the attention
of the media from his inevitable exit.
Maybe Samy Vellu wants to score brownie points with the ruling elite by
playing the hudud card to try and swing Indians votes at the Kuala
Terengganu by-election for the government.
If not for these plausible explanations, the unpopular and self-styled
leader of the Indian community would not be nitpicking on the hudud
issue. Neither would Samy Vellu challenge opposition leader Anwar
Ibrahim to state his stand on PAS' intention to introduce the Islamic
penal code.
It is given that there has been back and forth word games between PAS
and the rest of Pakatan Rakyat on problems relating to a set of punitive
Islamic laws. Although there has been no clear resolution, it is evident
that hudud is not on the Pakatan Rakyat agenda. Husam Musa, the
proponent of the law, has also acknowledged PAS is having difficulty
convincing its PKR and DAP partners.
Although the lines of debates within the opposition coalition are
smudged on hudud laws, I would like to draw Samy Vellu's attention to
the fact that Pakatan Rakyat allows for the discussion of different
issues.
An authoritarian leader like Samy Vellu must find it rather hard to
understand the need for democratic space to brainstorm various issues,
even if they centre around the implementation of hudud laws.
It is true that the Indians supported PAS during the March general
election. But Samy Vellu must also be aware that the swing in support
for the opposition stems primarily from the fact that Indians are fed-up
with MIC and Barisan Nasional.
After 50 years of independence, Indians are aware that the ruling UMNO-led
government will do nothing to uplift the socio-economic conditions of
the minority community.
MIC, a political party which enjoys a client-patron relationship with
UMNO, is not in a position to push for the empowerment of Indians.
Neither do they have the political or financial clout.
In short, MIC is a non-relevant grouping of individuals who have earned
the wrath of Indians and done nothing tangible or sustainable for the
Indian community.
Samy Vellu's response to any pressing urgency concerning the community
is that he would meet Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi. This is
unsatisfactory and mere rhetoric.
The MIC is struggling to regain the confidence of the people through a
re-branding exercise. Therefore Samy Vellu should focus on this
ambitious endeavour and stop harping on issues concerning hudud laws.
The implementation of hudud laws is subject to amendments to the Federal
Constitution and clearly PAS would not be able to get the two-thirds
majority to amend the Constitution.
Therefore, the issue raised by Samy Vellu with Anwar is irrelevant. It
is clear the aging politician wants to strengthen his hold on power by
playing up on issues that Barisan Nasional is highlighting for its
political mileage.
But, in this case MIC has lost the plot and Samy Vellu has no voice in
the Indian community.
* Charles Santiago, MP for Klang
http://dapmalaysia.org