I refer to the Malaysiakini report MIC's restless young blood want change .

The above report is timely since the Indians in Malaysia took to the streets two months back to show they've had enough of MIC and its nonsense. It's surprising how much this community has achieved in two months that it couldn't in 20 years.

First, it mobilised its people – once regarded as the country’s most timid – to advocate for justice. That prompted the prime minister to call for a meeting – the first between him and his loyal Indian voters who've been getting little all these years for their loyalty.

The next thing we knew, Indians facing murder raps for hurling bricks were walking free from jail. Even a religious holiday the community had requested for 30 years was suddenly approved.

But instead of wagging their tails in gratitude, as the government expected, the Indians are now showing a diplomatic finger to the MIC and Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi’s administration for trying to buy them with crumbs.

Their applause-worthy reaction also suggests to political pundits that it will take a lot more to win them back. The question is how much more?

Consumer advocate Dr Jacob George said in his letter says that the administration has to radically change the way it does business. He said it has to ‘think outside the box’ if it wants to keep up with society’s evolution, which to me is light years ahead of the current mental capacity of many government leaders.

In another letter , the writer said Hindraf has been catapulted into a ‘vanguard position for the articulation of the need for change’ in Malaysia. He said Hindraf, in challenging the NEP and its evils, as well as championing the Indian cause where the MIC has failed, has hit upon a very resonating chord within Malaysian society.

While I concur with George's wisdom that honest change has to come from the government, I seriously doubt Abdullah and his self-serving lot will do any such thing without getting their butts kicked first. I also agree with the other writer that, although Hindraf is an Indian movement, the issues it fights for apply to all downtrodden Malaysians, not just Indians.

But before Hindraf gets pulled into a broader national agenda, I feel the organisation and the Indians who support it have unfinished business at hand – to finish S Samy Vellu and the MIC, even before the master plan is finalised for the coming general election.

As I mentioned at the outset of this letter, I had been waiting to say this ever since the Hindraf rally on Nov 25. The rally itself was a brilliant stroke that brought the world's attention to the marginalisation of the Indians in Malaysia and the desecration of their temples.

It brought the high nose and brow of the government a little lower to sniff and see what's burning within this community and find ways to extinguish the flames, if possible. All that was great but it's time to move on.

What is needed now is a nationwide movement to pressure for the immediate resignation of Samy Vellu from the cabinet and all his posts in the Indian Malaysian society. To me, this is even more urgent than demanding for the immediate release of Hindraf leader P Uthayakumar and his colleagues from detention.

In fact, one reason why those people are in jail is because of Samy Vellu and his shortcomings. And when I say immediate pressure is needed to remove Samy Vellu, I'm talking about pressure that should start before the Barisan Nasional makes anymore preparations to accommodate him and his party in its election agenda.

Along with Samy Vellu's ouster, Indians should call for the dismantling of the MIC and its removal from the BN. Indian representation within the Barisan in the coming election should go to non- MIC members in the ruling coalition. Whether those seats go to the PPP, Gerakan or other BN- affiliated parties sympathetic to Indians is something Abdullah will have to work out with real representatives of the community – using the same spirit he adopted when he met them after the Hindraf rally.

Preferably, Abdullah should split the MIC-designated seats amongst the different parties, so that no one can claim a monopoly on the Indian fate and all will try honestly to serve the community better. MIC members who want to salvage their political careers in one way or another can opt to join these other BN parties. Of course, they will not be starting at the top, but will have to work their way up from the middle or below.

If Abdullah doesn't agree to the above proposal, then the Indians should tell him politely that they will do everything to ensure that MIC candidates who stand in the coming election will lose spectacularly, even to the extent of squandering their election deposits.

I know some Indians reading this will argue that not having a larger party to represent them could effectively make the community an even greater minority in Malaysia. My reply is: when you are already at rock bottom, where else can you go?

Having said my piece, I must add that calling for the complete annihilation of a party set up for our welfare by our community’s forefathers is something that saddens me.

Not everyone in the MIC is within Samy Vellu's elite circle of corruption and general uselessness to society. Some elected representatives in the party, as well as ordinary members, have been rendering meaningful help to constituents and people dependent on them. But such noble souls are too few and far apart.

For the greater good, you sometimes have to do what's painful. And the greater good calls now for this party to be removed from every aspect of society.

Indian Malaysians, do not procrastinate. You need to act before the MIC does – and causes more damage to the society in years to come. The Malaysiakini report mentioned above said that while the MIC has publicly downplayed and even denied the aftershocks generated by the Hindraf rally, sentiments are different behind closed doors. It says young leaders within the party are keen to get rid of the older guards at the top.

But, apparently, almost everyone still has ‘tremendous respect’ for Samy Vellu. I would actually put this as ‘tremendous fear’ – fear that the man will use any means to crush opposition that comes at him from within.

Indians at large need to understand that the MIC cannot dislodge S Samy Vellu without their help. If you close down this party, its present lot would, of course, begrudge you for prematurely ending their political careers. But if these people are true politicians, they will rebound – and in a better form. And they will thank you for that.