opinion

Annual general assemblies of political parties constituted within the BN fold have become dramas and fronts to hide the sad facts of politics in the country.

The MIC's 55th annual general-meeting (AGM) held in Johor Baru over the weekend is a sad and tragic example of how an Indian political party in general and the leadership in particular, seeks to manipulate the Indian downtrodden masses on the question of political representation.

Having spent nearly RM700,000 for the fiesta and having it graced by none other than the prime minister, the party under the authoritarian control of none other than S Samy Vellu had the audacity to claim that it is always relevant to the needs and aspirations of Indian masses, the vast majority of them hardly able to break out of poverty, underdevelopment, racism of the worst kind and other tragic elements of the so-called multi-racial Malaysian society.

It would have been most appropriate and decent of the party leadership if they had spent the money to rehabilitate those affected badly in the Petaling Jaya Selatan racial attacks.

But apart from some tears shed by the leadership and the promise of low cost houses and the so-called commitment to do some research by the Social Strategic Foundation (YSS), the party has nothing to offer to the victims.

Bread crumbs

Hardly has the Indian community recovered from the shock of racial attacks, the MIC, without any sense of morality, throws its annual gathering with much pomp and publicity with delegates in traditional attire giving an impression that they are all about to embark on a powerful trajectory to lift the community from its present doldrums.

The prime minister is invited to address the gathering; he utters a few words of greeting in the Tamil language to the astonishment and amazement of the delegates.

However, it is the same prime minister who has done nothing to uplift the Tamil language in the country for years and he is also one of the leaders responsible for the sad fate of Tamil schools in the country.

The real actor in the drama of the assembly is of course the president of MIC himself. Makes his usual speech, asks the government to help the Indians, suggests some proposals and others.

But he knows, and so too the other leaders of the party, that the Indian community never gets the attention of the government and the prime minister. The prime minister knows very well that the MIC can do nothing without his cooperation and the occasional dishing out of bread crumbs.

If at all the MIC gets radical (not a chance ever), the prime minister would always have the option of favoring the IPF or the PPP or both. These parties are considered 'good' Indian parties simply because they are known to be servile and subservient parties totally beholden to the prime minister.

In this respect, the MIC shines a bit in comparison, but not too much.

Colourful sarees

Democracy, dissent and freedom of speech are rare elements in the MIC. If the whole party is shaken up by the question of one delegate who raised certain procedural matters, then one can imagine the real situation of this decadent party.

The president, despite the overwhelming support from the delegates by virtue of his authoritarian control, cannot even handle or tolerate one critical question. When the delegate from Seputeh raised questions pertaining to the procedures involved in party appointments, the president simply could not resist the temptation to denounce the delegate.

He threatened to resign from the party, called upon the delegates to state their stand, get them to throw out the delegate from the hall and such. Now, what kind of democracy is there in this so-called party when delegates are threatened with expulsion simply because they want to ask questions?

How can Indian Malaysian problems be resolved without the freedom to discuss and dissent over many issues? How can the leadership not be criticised, when they have not lifted a finger to help the community in the last few decades?

It is simply not enough for delegates, both men and women, to be attired in costly traditional costumes when the Indian community is on the verge of being left out of the developmental mainstream.

It is just not enough for MIC women to be attired in colourful sarees when Indian women in general are the most exploited in the country. It is not enough for the leaders and their wives to parade themselves before the delegates when the Indian community is a poor and neglected community.

Racists, charlatans

There is a tendency to give the impression that Indians are well-off and that they have made much progress under the tutelage of the MIC. Nothing can be further from the truth; on the contrary, it is the subservient politics of the MIC and its typical 'yes-man' attitude that have reduced the dignity and well-being of the community in the political arena.

It is a shame and an utmost tragedy that the MIC refuses to touch on the real problems of Indians in the country for so many years. What is lacking in the party is basically guts and honesty.

The average Indian Malaysian knows very well that the MIC cannot be trusted and there is no way that the party can reform itself to address the issues of the community boldly and forthrightly in the future.

There is a growing feeling that the community must seek alternative representation - an alternative political movement that will stand and fight for Indian rights without compromising to the racists and charlatans within the arena of Malaysian politics.

They do not assume that the MIC is a permanent feature of Indian politics in the country; time will tell its relevance. However, going on the basis of recent developments in which the community has been humiliated, the community needs a fundamental re-orientation.

P RAMASAMY is a professor of political economy at the Political Science Department, Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia and has academic interests in Malaysian politics and labour. He has written quite extensively and is currently focusing on conflict management in Sri Lanka.