As deputy chief minister of Penang state, Prof Dr P Ramasamy seems to be more interested in every other matter except the affairs of Indian Malaysians in the state. There have been so many complaints on the sorry state of affairs of the community in the state but Ramasamy will not focus and attend to such complaints but instead would harp on MIC leaders on other petty political issues.

With due respect, I would like to remind Ramasamy that Kampong Buah Pala is still vividly remembered by the Indian Malaysian community. Recent debacles caused by the Hindu Endowment Board on the Batu Kawan Muthu Mariamman temple and other issues were widely reported.

However, Ramasamy is more interested in inviting some politicians from Tamil Nadu to attend forums to discuss about the plight of Sri Lankan Tamils far away from Penang, rather than addressing local issues affecting the Indian Malaysian community for which he had been elected as a state assemblyperson and appointed by his party as deputy chief minister.

Recently he made a statement on an alleged conspiracy between the Registrar of Societies (ROS) and MIC. Yesterday, he has slammed MIC president Dr S Subramaniam on the possible Umno-PAS alliance.

Ramasamy, despite being the Deputy Chief Minister of Penang was not able to win a seat in DAP’s central committee. That is the state of his popularity in the party. His backyard is piling up with numerous issues and complaints. I would like to advise Ramasamy to take care of his own backyard in Penang and look at his own party first before poking his nose on other party’s affairs.

Until recently DAP and PAS had a wonderful relationship and why didn’t Ramasamy utter a word about that? PKR is still having a political relationship with PAS in Selangor and will DAP dare to walk out from their pact in Selangor? Why is the same DAP still courting PKR in Penang and Selangor despite PKR’s association with PAS?

As long as PAS is courting Pakatan Rakyat it is a friend to DAP, but the day it leaves the opposition coalition it is branded as an enemy by Ramasamy.

PAS leaders even attended the PKR annual general assembly recently held. Why didn’t Ramasamy even whisper about that?

Suddenly he is concerned about the Umno-PAS alliance because it will mean disaster for Pakatan Rakyat and Pakatan Harapan allies in the 14th general election (GE14).

In this regard I urge Ramasamy to once again read the comments made by MIC president Dr Subramaniam. Dr Subra clearly voiced his concerns about PAS policies and unequivocally stated that MIC will raise its concerns about PAS in the BN supreme council meeting.

‘Umno has been a loyal brother to MIC’

Umno has been a loyal brother to MIC all these years. We have gained very much under the leadership of Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and the BN coalition members are not like Pakatan coalition members who sing one tune when married and change the tune when divorced. The brotherhood that prevails in BN has withstood the test of time and once again we will overcome all the issues that may arise in the event an Umno-PAS alliance takes place.

Our BN brotherhood is built on solid understanding and spirit and is not a shaky one like that of DAP, PAS and PKR.

Our party leadership knows how to take care of our relationship with Umno and our party will ensure that the rights and privileges of Indian Malaysians are well-protected even if PAS joins hands with Umno.

So, Ramasamy should not jump the gun and pass remarks even before the PAS-Umno cooperation talks begin. While we wait for the outcome of PAS-Umno talks, I urge Prof Ramasamy to seriously attend and solve some of Penang Indian issues and Hindu Endowment Board disputes and we in MIC know how to take care of our own party affairs and that of the Indian community.

SUNTHER SUBRAMANIAM is a former member of the MIC central working committee.