MIC's restless young blood want change

Source : M'Kini
Image : Net


A revolution is brewing in MIC as its young leaders are growing restless with the current scenario.

These leaders are pressing for radical changes, according to sources. They fear that if the changes are not instituted swiftly, it will spell peril for the party in the long run.

The first step is to re-look the line-up for the coming general elections and the young leaders are trying to convince party president S Samy Vellu to make a bold decision.

"The young blood are worried about MIC's future. They believe that changes are necessary to ensure the party remains relevant in the coming years," sources told Malaysiakini.

The political landscape, as far as the Indian community is concerned, witnessed an overnight transformation following the Nov 25 rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

While MIC has publicly downplayed and even denied the aftershocks generated by the rally, the sentiments are different behind closed doors.

From top to bottom, the fissures are acknowledged and the party is desperately trying to make amends and win back support.

New faces to boost image

In view of this, sources said MIC's young leaders are pushing for new faces, especially for the parliamentary seats.

"Like all revolutions, heads will have to roll but the young leaders want to avoid any bloodshed as infighting will only weaken the party.

"Furthermore, they have tremendous respect for Samy Vellu. So a confrontational approach is out of the question."

However, sources warned that fireworks may erupt as the young leaders are lobbying for some of the party heavyweights to be dropped.

This includes veterans like vice-presidents S Veerasingam (MP for Tapah) and KS Nijhar (MP for Subang Jaya) as well as secretary-general Dr S Subramaniam (MP for Segamat).

MIC central working committee member and Cameron Highlands MP SK Devamany is also said to be on the list while Wanita chief and Kapar MP K Komala Devi's political future is classified as 'undecided'.

The other MIC parliamentarians are Samy Vellu (Sungai Siput), deputy president G Palanivel (Hulu Selangor ), vice-president S Sothinathan (Teluk Kemang) and Youth chief SA Vigneswaran (Kota Raja).

The old guards on the 'list' have strong support in the party and their axing will definitely spawn discontent among their supporters.

To avoid this, sources claimed that the young leaders have crafted a strategy which they hope will lead to an amicable solution.

"The plan is to allow the veterans to continue holding their party positions, but be moved to state seats instead.

"The veteran leaders can then take over the reins of MIC's respective state leadership while paving the way for the young leaders to contest in the parliamentary seats."

'Tall order' for the president

Commenting on this, a MIC veteran agreed that fresh faces in the election line-up will help boost the party's image.

"The current scenario has put pressure on Samy Vellu to make changes, especially after the MIC supremo promised to revamp the way the party operates.

"He has to put the money where his mouth is and demonstrate to the Indian community that he means business by revamping the current line-up," he said.

Describing the task as a 'tall order' for the MIC president, the veteran said if Samy Vellu can pull it off, "he may be in a position to win back some of the support from the community, especially from those seen as fence sitters."

"The changes (in the line-up) will also reflect the MIC president's sincerity in wanting to remodel the country's largest Indian-based party," he added.

While this strategy may rope in the votes, the veteran stressed that its execution will not be an easy feat for Samy Vellu.

"To make the changes, he needs to muster all the courage that he can. These old guards are no pushovers, they must be dropped without ruffling feathers.

"This will ensure that Samy Vellu continues to enjoy support from these old guards, especially at the state politics level," he said.

The ball is now in the president's court, said sources, adding that Samy Vellu is fully aware that the coming elections is nothing short of an acid test for him and the party he has led for three decades.

YennaMike Says : You guys are only concerned about MIC future, how about future of Indians in Malaysia. You guys going on and on about party image...what image have MIC portrayed so far...!!!