Your report on the MIC president blowing his top at the party's general assembly, if accurate, is a vintage display of his theatrical abilities and political prowess in diverting attention from the real issues at hand.

The question of the performance of MIC's elected representatives raised by the brave but unfortunate delegate from Sungei Siput was indeed appropriate, timely and worthy of a thoughtful response.

Instead of seizing the opportunity to exhort these elected representatives to be more effective, the president chose to chastise and humiliate the delegate with the purpose of ensuring that similarly uncomfortable questions are not posed by any other.

He uses his oratorical skills, supported by a system of threats and patronage, to maximum advantage in ensuring absolute domination of the party at all levels.

He and he alone can and will decide o­n what is good for the future of the Indian Malaysian community as he is the self-proclaimed champion of all Indian Malaysians.

The problem with MIC's political culture is that there is no room for bright new political talent - now sorely needed by the Indian Malaysian community. Instead you have a bunch of 'yes' men and self-seeking opportunists trying to outdo each other for the president's favours.

The fact that the president has openly admitted to money politics within the party indicates the existence of tangible connections between party positions and access to business opportunities. Throw in the cronyism with its BN counterparts and the abuse of official positions for personal gain and you have an MIC that is doing very well indeed for itself.

An interesting resolution to pose at the next general assembly is a declaration of wealth by the MIC central working committee members. Does anyone know the net worth of the global assets and investments held by the MIC president and his family members, all acquired o­n a paltry salary?

The recent general assembly saw the same old resolutions regurgitated. How many resolutions have there been o­n Tamil schools before this? How many times has the MIC pleaded for additional varsity sears for Indian Malaysian?

The pledge for financial assistance for Indian Malaysian businesses is a familiar litany. The annual ritual of praising the prime minister, pledging unqualified support for him and leaving everything in his hands has become a MIC mantra.

And yet, in a recent article in The Economist , Indian Malaysian were described as a marginalised, impoverished underclass; an assertion that was not challenged nor rebutted by the Malaysian government and the MIC.

Why were there no resolutions at the MIC general assembly to debate this shameful portrayal of the Indian Malaysian community by a respected international publication?

The MIC has been reduced over the years to shameless begging from being treated as an equal partner in BN. Every now and then, it is thrown crumbs and leftovers: just enough to keep it hungry and yearning for more.

The search for a new identity espoused by the MIC president could very well stem from the sense of powerlessness and low self-esteem felt by every thinking MIC member. Instead of addressing these fundamental issues challenging the very core of its existence, the MIC leadership indulges in self-denial.

It must be obvious to MIC by now that it will not, and will never become, equal partners under the racialist hegemony of Umno. The MIC is the perfect partner; totally dependent and totally subservient to Umno for its very existence, and completely subjugated by "ketuanan Melayu"(Malay supremacy).

Even the president's political survival lies in the hands of the prime minister as the Anti-Corruption Agency has yet to conclude its findings o­n his role in the Maika-Telekom scandal.

The MIC deputy president received his position o­nly because of Umno - the same for every MIC candidate. And so the charade of MIC's political power is in reality Umno pulling the puppet strings all along.

MIC has done precious little for the community. The harsh but tragic conclusion is that the MIC has failed to effectively represent the interests of Indian Malaysians (judging by its own admissions of failure reflected in old worn-out annual resolutions).

It has failed to overcome the fundamental economic and social problems plaguing the community and has been instrumental, through neglect, in reducing a significant segment of the community into a subservient underclass.

It has failed to harness the considerable intellectual and leadership talent amongst the Indian community. And it has failed to build a Malaysian identity amongst the Indian Malaysians by perpetuating chauvinism and playing o­n ethnic and religious insecurities.

How much worse can the community get if there were no MIC ministers, deputy ministers and parliamentary secretaries? Will the lives of the Indian Malaysian poor become that much more unbearable if there are no MIC state executive council members?

It is time for the ordinary MIC members in estates and urban settlements to challenge the status quo and demand that MIC breakaway from the subservience to and dependence o­n Umno.

The MIC has to stop the pretence and face reality that its constituency is fast becoming an underclass. It is time that the MIC change the rules of the BN game - the poor and marginalised have the same rights as the rich and influential; it can and must demand the fair treatment guaranteed in the Constitution.

This can o­nly happen if the ordinary MIC members throw out the sycophants, thugs and corrupt individuals. The MIC has to re-discover that there is dignity in poverty and might is not always right.