Can the president of the MIC decide the fate of his deputy president?

MIC deputy president S Subramaniam was elected by the party's delegates at the party's general assembly in May 2003.

So how can he be just dropped from the MIC candidate list for today's election? It has now been proven that the PM is a mere rubber stamp for the candidates lists submitted by the component party presidents.

By agreeing to S Samy Vellu's list, Abdullah Ahmad Badawi has shown the Indians that he is really without any power when it comes to the MIC's candidates. The alternative message is that he is the final authority who dropped Subra and not Samy Vellu. This is what that is most disturbing to Indians at large.

The recent statements and actions by Abdullah had really lifted the spirits of the public, particularly the Indians, when they heard that the government will be equal and fair to all races. It is no secret that Indian community has long suffered economically and politically under the BN leadership and have really lost out under the New Economic Policy.

Now Abdullah seems to have succumbed to pressures from party warlords as it can be seen from the fielding again of candidates like Rafidah Aziz, Nazri, Samy Vellu and Sarawak chief minister Taib Mahmud.

The opposition is having a field day now, as their claims that Abdullah's actions were merely political gimmicks seem to be turning true.

There have been a number of police and ACA reports lodged against Samy Vellu recently. The police and the ACA have been conducting their own, separate investigations into the various affairs related to the Maika Holdings scandal involving Samy Vellu and his son Vel Paari.

There were also investigations into Samy Vellu's alleged corrupt practices and the infamous nine million Telekom shares scandal.

With all these allegations, the Indian community is shocked that the PM not only fielded Samy Vellu today but agreed to drop Subra.