Indian winter of discontent marks a watershed in Malaysia’s 50th year

by Joe Fernandez @ Fernz

“Air tenang jangan disangka tiada buaya” (Don’t think there are no crocodiles in the water just because it is still.) The unhappiness has always been there even before Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force) emerged in public. It began well before Malaysia announced the New Economic Policy in 1970, several months after the Fri 13 May 1969 race riots, and as a result of deviations from the very outset, further exacerbated 150 years of exploitation during the British colonial era.

When you virtually kidnap perfectly-contented people from the freedom of the vast Tamil Nadu countryside and subject them to virtual enslavement in the pressure-cooker of a regimented environment, the pressures build up over the century and decades and must eventually find an outlet. Being perpetually drunk on toddy, cheap liqueur and illicit samsu peddled by enterprising Chinese moonshiners, wife-beating and other forms of abuse were the initial response of a community, disoriented, trapped in a vicious cycle of poverty, ignorance and ill-health in an alien land which they did not voluntarily seek. In fact, the Malaysian, British and Indian Governments should compensate these people, past and present.

Historically, the vast majority of even voluntary migrants everywhere, since time immemorial, have generally exchanged grinding poverty in the old country for genteel poverty in their new land. The smart Indians, mostly in the towns and some among the planting class in the estates, are the ones that didn’t stay to compete with the Malays when independence came. They came during the days of the British Empire, saved almost every sen they could lay their hands on and went back cash rich to invest in India, taking advantage of the exchange rate. In the end, no matter where you go in the world, what matters is the exchange rate and how much you can save every month and whether you can eventually return and neutralize your “karma”. Others, especially those shanghaied and kept in the estates against their will on a pittance, were trapped when the Empire fell apart.

The NEP at the outset nobly pledged to eliminate the identification of race with economic function and place of residence; eliminate poverty irrespective of race; and create an environment whereby the indigenous communities, within the context of an expanding economic pie and growth, will own, control and manage 30 per cent of the nation’s corporate wealth within a 20-year timeframe i. e. by 1990. Peter would not be robbed to pay Paul, it was pledged but this was what precisely happened in many cases. The NEP has been observed more often in the breach during the years 1970-90 and thereafter. 1990 has come and gone and the NEP is still around, still being observed in the breach. Abuses and deviations are rampant. The NEP, from day one despite its oft-cited lofty ideals, deviated and degenerated into AliBabaism, nepotism, cronyism, collusion and corruption and bred casteism in a form even more virulent than that in India, ancient and contemporary, where many people go through the forms but not the functions; white-ruled South Africa where a white man was considered superior even when confirmed to be a moron, Nazi Germany of the master race theory much like the ketuanan Melayu concept, white Spanish and Portuguese controlled Latin America where the native Indians are now battling for their rights; and the Peso-millionaire ruled Philippines where Filipino laziness is legendary because, as in India, there’s no incentive to work. The 30% corporate wealth target has been attained, but not for the Dayaks, KadazanDusunMuruts and the Orang Asli. The NEP still continues but not for them or for others at the bottom of the dung heap.

Now the Tamils have some leadership and organisation going and can be expected to get somewhere. The initial eye-opener came, observations show, with an influx of Indian tourists and when Indian IT expatriates started working in Malaysia and were shocked at the situation of the Indians in the country. From there, there was no turning back. The rural-urban migration has created a huge underclass of Tamil-educated Indians in the towns and cities and provides cannon fodder for MIC elites to wrest some crumbs for themselves from the ruling Malay elite. In fact, the situation of the Indian community in Malaysia puts off many Indians from visiting Malaysia. The Government’s idea, from press reports, is to get at least one million Indians from India’s middle class, as large as and richer than the combined populations of France and Germany, to visit Malaysia every year and a further one million from China. Sounds good on paper.

The Government links Hindraf with the Tamil Tigers, who allege discrimination at the hands of the Sinhalese majority in Sri Lanka, and are fighting to carve out a separate homeland for themselves in the north and east of the country. In fact, the Government first reportedly suspected some links between the Tamil Tigers and Malaysia as early as 1990 but did not do anything about it because of the influence that the tiny Sri Lankan Tamil community in Malaysia wields Also, the Government is now trying to link Hindraf with the RSS movement in India. A RSS link will be even worse than a Tamil Tiger link. No doubt in order to undercut interfaith support for Hindraf, the Government has now reportedly decided (Health Minister and MCA vice-president Datuk Choi Soi Lek in a Bernama report in the Borneo Post on Mon 10 Dec Page 6) to allow mission schools to display the cross and pictures and statutes of the Virgin Mary. Is this a cosmetic move? What’s in the fine print? What about mission schools that are government-aided or what happens if only Muslim fundamentalists or non-Christians are appointed as heads of mission schools?

Obviously, these are attempts to distance people from Hindraf. The official line proceeds along an all too familiar pathway: criminalization, demonisation, dehumanisation, neutralisation, isolation, marginalisation and finally elimination. Will that be the end of the Government’s troubles?

Government apologists from the Indian community have been slavishly falling all over themselves to support the ruling party on the Hindraf issue. What’s the point of getting a fat, sleek Tamil Brahmin or a Sikh loanshark to condemn Hindraf, a movement with which they have very little connection and no sympathies whatsoever. Indians are notorious for being prejudiced even among themselves, generally for no rhyme or reason, ever since the Aryan influx into India several thousand years ago. North Indians belabour under the misconception that they are Aryans, denying their Dravidian heritage. The Sikhs, for example, have a holier-than-thou attitude when dealing with Tamils, especially those from the estates, although almost all Sikhs are actually low-caste generally largely Dravidian converts from Hinduism. In recent years, the Sikh community has concentrated on hijacking the MIC at various levels from the Tamils with a considerable degree of success.

Now that India is an emerging economic and military power as well, besides being second only to the US in medicine and IT, the Indian community has been further emboldened to make demands especially since Malaysia is increasingly dependent on India (and China too) economically in the wake of globalization. You would be hard-pressed to find Indians in the many Malaysian companies making inroads in India. There are thousands of niche opportunities in India, as in China, for Malaysian companies. Singapore is already there. The focus of global manufacturing is shifting from China to India as evident from a recent survey of multinational company plans for the next five years and beyond. Already, the Indian economy is the world’s third largest, eclipsing Japan, in PPP (purchasing power parity) terms. Soon, it will be the second largest, as China, the EU and the US are almost running neck-to-neck in first place in PPP terms. Washington meanwhile, for its own strategic reasons including containment of China to which India does not want to be a party, is working with New Delhi nevertheless on a plan to turn India into a major world power.

India aside, the issue is simple. Hindraf wants the British Government to right the historical wrongs to the Indians in Malaysia, the Tamils in particular, and compensate them as well as issue an official apology from the Queen and the Prime Minister.

The Malaysian Government should have lauded the move, and thanked its lucky stars that it is not being sued as well, instead of getting worked up on behalf of the British Government. Will the Government pursue a similar stand if Malay and other comfort women in the country sue the Japanese Government for the abuses suffered during the Japanese Occupation of Malaya and Borneo, after having glossed over the period in the school history textbooks? Thousands born during the 2nd World War years and later during the communist emergency years between 1948 and 1960 in Peninsular Malaysia, and a little later in Sarawak, are the result of rape at the hands of the invading forces as well as the terrorists. Only a DNA analysis can settle the long-running finger-pointing in the kampungs in particular and debate in whispers behind closed doors.

The Hindraf matter lies in court in London and there’s no reason why the class action suit cannot be won at least in part. Similar suits elsewhere have all been won by the victims viz. the natives in Australia and the United States; and a class action suit against Union Carbide in India over the Bhopal tragedy. The Blacks in the United States are contemplating a class action suit against the US Government for centuries of slavery. At this writing, Libyan President Col Muammar Gaddafi has also called on Europe to compensate Africa for the centuries of colonial exploitation and plunder of the continent’s wealth. The past has caught up with the present to haunt the future. Yet to be seen is a class action suit by the Third World against the First World, seeking reimbursement, for the brain drain they have suffered and continue to suffer.

Hindraf also wants freedom of worship and equal rights as guaranteed by the Federal Constitution. They are not touching on the special privileges of the Malays because there’s no need. Affirmation programmes to correct historical injustices can be within the ambit of the law and the Constitution as long as they do not deviate from an accepted framework and timeframe and do not violate the Constitutional provisions on equality, the fundamental bedrock of colour-blindness. It wouldn’t be surprising if a study finds that the NEP hasn’t benefited the vast majority of the Bumiputera in whose name various demands were made in 1970 and continue to be made. Malay politicians are twisting Hindraf demands to mean that the Indians are against special privileges for the Malays and questioning the official status of Islam. These are cheap tricks which will no longer work. In fact, the Constitution does not state that Islam is the official religion of the Federation, as stated by Wanita Umno at the recent party assembly in KL. I mentioned this in an update in my first posting in my blog. Please read.

The random demolishing of Hindu temples, allegedly built illegally, has been a growing problem in Malaysia. I won’t be surprised if some Hindu extreme right-wingers start blowing up mosques in retaliation. Hindraf has reportedly threatened a Sri Lanka style situation in Malaysia if the Tamils are further pushed into a corner. Violence will simply beget more violence. As Gandhi once said; “An eye for an eye will make the whole world blind.” Hindraf supporters each hold aloft Gandhi’s portrait when in court or in public. Obviously, this is a sign of non-violence, peaceful non-cooperation, and civil disobedience as part of a fill the jails policy. So far the police have exercised admirable restraint and not fallen for the bait, probably because the jails are 60% occupied by foreigners and not much space left over for Malaysians. They have only hauled in a token number of Hindraf supporters, but unfortunately even some innocent passers-by are now languishing in jail without bail, reports suggest. If it comes to a real showdown, what is the police going to do? Protect their own families first, or take the cue from their political masters, and take on the masses that may well outnumber them in the streets? This is a losing battle for the men in uniform!

There must be no violence on either side no matter what the provocation. The future of the country is at stake. Besides, Government officials must tone down their nonsensical rhetoric which only further inflames the situation. Do they really need the cheap publicity? Don’t they realize that when politics comes in through the door, economics flies out through then window? The rational approach is to talk and keep talking. It’s not wise to close doors. There is nothing to fear but fear itself. As long as the talking continues, there would be no violence. Talking need not mean that there must be agreement. Two parties to a dispute can first come up with a joint statement of agreed positions, followed by a list of differences, attempt to narrow the gap between the differences or bridge the gap, and finally agree to disagree in those areas where the respective positions are poles apart, and can them temporarily during a cooling off period before resuming dialogue.

If mistakes have been made, they should be admitted honestly and in most cases an apology should suffice while suitable restitution should be made in other cases. It takes a great man to say sorry and eat humble pie. If mishandled, the Hindraf issue will be the beginning of the end for the ruling BN because of the immediate impact in marginal seats and the snowball effect in the medium and long-term. This would of course be a great day for democracy in Malaysia. Change comes but seldom, because human beings by nature resist change, and when it comes it’s seldom, for seemingly no rhyme or reason.

The police are another issue with their trigger-happy shoot to kill mentality or otherwise shoot first, and ask questions later policy. Have the infamous death squads in Latin America and white-ruled South Africa re-surfaced in Malaysia now? There are allegations of police brutality against those in custody resulting in unexplained deaths. When one community is squatting on another community, the syndrome is best seen in the manner in which the police, generally coming from the bottom-rung of the community of squatters, deal with the community that is being squatted on. For example, white on black violence in the United States is generally committed by the no-hopers, the poor, white trash, the losers, among the cops.

There is an element of jealousy at work here among the poorly paid cops who routinely resort to corruption on an organized scale complete with accounts books etc to share their ill-gotten gains. The “smarter” ones among the newly arrived Tamils from the estates have embarked on a life of crime in collusion with Chinese triads to accumulate capital, as much as possible, in the shortest, easiest, quickest time frame. The next thing you know, they will be in politics, and the third day in the Government and Cabinet to accumulate even greater wealth. This is a well-trodden path taken by many peoples all over the world, since time immemorial, to accumulate capital and eventually seize the reins of power. The Jewish Mafia, Italian Mafia, the Japanese Yakuza, the Chinese Triads, the organized Black crime rings in the United States; the acts of piracy, gunboat diplomacy, slavery, colonial enslavement, colonialisation, imperialism and world wars embarked on by the British and other European powers and now, in the 21st century, by the United States.

Squatting was also the issue on which Singapore was booted out of Malaysia in 1965. Lee Kuan Yew made public his thoughts when he said: "If they (the Malays in KL) think that they can squat on us (S’pore) and get away with it, they are sadly mistaken.”

42 years later, it’s the turn of TamilMalaysia, and the same issue has cropped up. Interestingly, just a couple of months ago, Lee remarked that Singapore would consider re-joining Malaysia if the country educated its Indians and Chinese and used them. Then, came the big demonstration in front of the British High Commission. If for nothing else, this proves that Umno’s hype about “ketuanan Melayu” (Malay political supremacy and dominance) is unsustainable. Obviously, Hindraf wants to internationalise their campaign. They have had statements of support from the US State Department, the Tamil Nadu Chief Minister, the Indian opposition, and certain circles in the Indian Government. The Hindraf movement also has the support of many Malaysians of all ethnic origins who have traditionally been against the ruling party.

At this stage, we are not sure whether the urban middle class Indians are riding on their underclass brethren. Historically, revolutions and reformations have always been led by the middle class, not the down-trodden, when something bugs them in their comfort zone. A revolution takes 50 years in the making, according to most writings on the subject, going through three stages i.e. the writers’, politicians and bureaucrats who institutionalize the ideals of the revolution. Is Malaysia ripe for a revolution?

The middle class Indians certainly have reasons to be up in arms. It is an open secret that the Government has been overzealous in pushing Malays through various artificial means, even at the risk of declining standards, into the professions long-dominated by the Indian community. Indians tend to crowd into the professions because they are shut out from so many other areas of national life. Indians now face greater hurdles than ever in maintaining their numbers in the various professions. For example, law graduates need to sit for a government licensing examination which, besides having ethnic quotas built in, has been noted for various abuses as evident in a recent court case on tampering with the marks of successful candidates to pass failing candidates. Is it any wonder therefore that Hindraf has emerged as a potential hydra in many forms?

There are demonstrations nearly everyday in other civilized countries and nothing happens to bring an end to civilization. In Malaysia, the Government carries on as if even a small demonstration is enough to destroy the country for good. Are the powers that be so afraid for themselves? How can they keep a lid on people’s feelings? Will that not end in an even more violent eruption one day and the country in flames? They should learn from the experience of other countries where sectarian killings take place everyday for no rhyme or reason. Malaysia’s already shaky economy, in the wake of globalization, will surely pay a huge economic cost in terms of lost investments, diminished values and higher insurance and business costs, if a picture emerges in the international arena that the country is in the same league as Sri Lanka and Muslim countries like Pakistan, Afghanistan, Iraq, Palestine, Sudan and Somalia. Closer home there are trouble spots like Aceh, the Thai south and the Southern Philippines.

Basically, the west will support as a matter of strategy, any opposition movement against the status quo in any country which is seen as not completely democratic. Malaysia is seen as not completely democratic since the same party has been ruling for the last 50 years thanks to gerrymandering of electoral boundaries and forming a coalition before elections. Such coalitions are fraudulent and banned in genuine democracies. Also, if democracy means the right of the minority (not minorities) to be heard, that certainly does not happen in Malaysia given the country’s first past the post electoral system in which the winners take all and the losers lose all. Hindraf represents the voice of the unseen, the unheard, the forgotten, the ones outside the tight-knit MIC ambit which not so long ago expelled the poorest of the poor led by M. G. Pandithan. Having just one party in the BN to represent the Indians, it seems, no longer works. Of course, dictatorships which are completely pro-western, are exempted from the western pre-occupation with imposing democracy on the Third World.

Fifty years after independence, we wonder what the next half century will bring. More of the same? Much has been done and of course there will always be those who say that not enough has been done. For sure, much more could have been done. For sure, much remains to be done and needs to be done.

Much of the last fifty years has seen a pre-occupation with greed rather than economics. This is not a surprising deviation considering that Malaysia is a microcosm of the British Empire which was essentially a commercial empire. The formula hatched in London and refined under the leadership of British Prime Minister Benjamin Disraeli, the first Jew on the job, was simple. Colonies were needed to supply the mother country exclusively with raw materials at rock bottom prices while providing captive markets which had no choice but pay through their noses for manufactured goods. The British Empire ensured that local skills were destroyed so that the mother country faced no competition. The result of course was Gandhi launching a campaign to revive local skills and two world wars which buried the idea of colonies and imperialism for good. Globalization is now seen as the better way forward. The emphasis is on market efficiency, smart partnerships, giving consumers choices rather than allowing Governments to protect inefficient industries run by fat cats and cronies, a policy of prosper thy neighbour and the common good that comes from companies, wherever they are, doing good, countries doing good and being a blessing to all. Why doesn’t Malaysia see a prosperous Indian community as good for the country?

Malaysia will be pre-occupied with race relations and national unity for the next fifty years. We have a Department of National Unity in the PM’s Department run by Minister in the PM’s Department, Dr Maximus Ongkili. They tend to focus on a lot of cosmetic programmes. What they need to work on is substance. My recent SMS to Dr Max reads: “At present, there is too much lip service when it comes to national unity. As one who has dear relatives and friends among all races and religions, I venture that national unity is of paramount importance and will hinge on two major factors viz. tak kenal, maka tak cinta; and parents and teachers must not transfer their prejudices to their children. Perhaps this is something that your department can take up urgently, starting with our police, the press, politicians and PTAs.”

I would add that a third factor would be instituting a culture of sharing and caring. Now, greed and materialism gets in the way. Sharing and caring is not possible in an atmosphere of evil. What is evil? Evil can best be described as a lack of empathy.

The Malays, or at least the Umno Malays, first take what they want. Whatever the Government allocates or sets aside for the non-Malays is monopolized by the Chinese to the detriment of the Indians, the Orang Asli, the Dayaks and the KDMs. In fact, the Chinese have been grabbing from the Malays too by getting Malay legislators to act as their commission agents or otherwise buying up Government contracts awarded to the Malays at a pittance of their original sum, when not too busy stealing from the public treasury through various means. The purpose of Chinese participation in Government is to gather official information which can be translated into commercial gain. Meanwhile, the Malays, to the delight of the Chinese, are on a perpetual high on politics for the sake of politics, both the secular and religious kinds. Malay legislators and Chinese businessmen who have spawned the Ali Baba rentier economy are like two drunk men, both holding on to each other in their stupor, and certain to fall into the ditch together.

We should not get carried away too much by Bangsa Malaysia. The country after all was basically put together by the departing British colonialists to protect their commercial interests. Is that a good basis to build a nation? All that hype about Malay nationalism is just that. Hype! The Dayaks and the KDMs have a more credible claim to nationalism.

If you want to send your two cents worth of comments to Dr Max, his email address is: ongkili@pmo.gov.my. Or maxima5533@yahoo.co.uk. Try not to be too pro-Malay. It’s not a popular thing to do under the present circumstances. Besides, the Malays can take care of themselves. I am happy to see the Malays, or others for that matter, doing well. I think it will be good for the country. The same sentiments cannot be detected in the Indian community. When they see others forging ahead while they lag behind, their anger and frustration knows no bounds and borders on the explosive. This is a community filled with murderous rage and I shudder to think what will happen in the future. Hindraf is not a phenomenon which will go away anytime soon. There’s a risk it will be driven underground, metamorphosising into dangerous forms and striking back from all directions on a sea of mass support which no power on Earth can handle. People who have nothing to lose but their chains become a deadly force when they organize themselves. Organisations become even more dangerous when they are ad hoc, thereby overcoming the bureaucratic trap that cause most organizations to eventually wither away, decay and disintegrate.

Matters are made worse because we have a duffer for a Prime Minister. He’s a political chameleon and a political opportunist who says he has big ears and done a lot for the Indians. How could he have done a lot for the Indians when he just came into office? The fact is that he has not been doing anything for the Indians, or anyone else for that matter, since taking office. He has just finished going around the country, labelling organic growth activities taking place in various parts of the country, as economic corridors. Except for the economic corridor in Johore, the other so-called economic corridors all sound like gimmicks to hoodwink the people just before the elections.

Mahathir did say before he retired that he has put everything in place for the next century or so. “Only a congenital idiot would ruin everything,” he said. Prophetic words! And what does Mahathir do before retiring? He appoints a duffer, Badawi, to take his place. Serves him (Mahathir) right for getting rid of his former deputy, Musa Hitam, and ex-Finance Minister Tengku Razaleigh Hamzah. These were the best of the worst.

On a personal level, the Indians can take a leaf from the Chinese in their winter of discontent and not give in to negativity although they are caught between the devil (the Malays) and the deep blue sea (the Chinese). Man (Umno) proposes, God disposes. Don’t let Umno play God. Trust in God to strike down your enemies. Umno sooner rather than later will be consigned to the dustbins of history. This is not a case of talk being cheap or easier said than done. There are deep spiritual truths here. Always be thankful and grateful and there will be more opportunities to be thankful and grateful for. Look for the silver lining in the clouds, consider everything that happens as a blessing in disguise and always count your blessings. Opportunities often come disguised as problems. You cannot keep a good man down.

For starters, one cannot insist on having the cake and eating it too. Tamil education, up to Year 6, was started by the British colonialists not only to keep the community in the estates in perpetuity but to turn out better tappers. The MIC, mooted by the British colonialists, has fought tooth-and-nail to keep the colonial system in place while Malay language chauvinists in Government, who hold the purse strings, either deny or grudgingly dole out critical funds in dribs and drabs to frustrate the maintenance of the schools. Tamil Nadu can play an important role in the modernization of the Tamil schools in the country but the political will must be there. Indians should also get out of the Tamil alone trap and master the English and Malay languages. This would open up a window of opportunities in education as demonstrated by the success of non-Tamil Indians and many urban Tamils as well in various spheres of national life. Lifelong learning is the key to remaining productive and relevant in an increasingly globalised world economy.

Obviously, the lack of language skills create a communication gap with other Malaysians and even the syndrome best expressed by the Malay saying: “Seperti katak di bawah tempurung” (The frog under the coconut shell thinks that is the world.). There needs to be greater interaction between Indians and non-Indians in all spheres of national life. It’s a great loss to the nation if the Indians keep away from others, either deliberately, or because they have no choice in the matter. Already, there is polarisation between Muslims and non-Muslims thanks to the Umno brand of politics and religion and attempts by lunatic fringe groups to force the Government to elevate the Syariah courts to the level of the civil courts at the expense of all.

Meanwhile, at the Hindraf level, there needs to be a realization where the line should be drawn, between where politics ends and good government begins. While the politics is important, one should not get carried away by the hype in one’s own politics. There are no permanent friends, and no permanent enemies, in politics. Otherwise, the politics would be a failure.

The unrest in Malaysia sounds all too suspiciously like similar eruptions elsewhere in the world in the wake of globalization. The influx of foreign workers, both legal and illegal, from neighbouring countries has had a negative effect on Indian jobs and depressed wages. Indian unrest can be expected to spill over into the Orang Asli, Dayak and KadazanDusunMurut communities too before sweeping through the Chinese and Malays. The stresses and strains are evident in Malaysia after 50 years of “non-nation building”. It’s a brave new world out there.

In short, we are in for a period of political instability. Unusually long periods of political stability are generally followed by a period of instability. This law of nature can be seen at work in the atom when it is split and causes a chain reaction, ushering in a period of instability called radioactivity, which in itself is an attempt to find stability. The longer and greater the period of stability in humans affairs, the longer and greater the period of instability that follows. Examples abound: Yugoslavia after 50 years of Joseph Tito who wasn’t from Serbia but Croatia; Indonesia after over 30 years of Suharto; the Philippines after 20 years of Marcos; Russia after over 70 years of communism and one-party rule and so on. The fate that befell these nations will befall Singapore, China and Malaysia, among others.

Mahathir, although he meant well, stayed too long in public office, and the Barisan Nasional has been around even longer. The BN, which emerged from the ashes of the Alliance Party in the wake of the race riots of May 13, will only be kidding itself if it thinks it can stay in office another 50 years. No force on Earth can withstand a people who have stood up and are on the march. Unfortunately, in most cases, all changes find the same people back in power again after some time in disproportionately large numbers under a new label. Who is Putin, for example? An ex-KGB spy. It was the KGB which led the way forward towards glasnost (openness) and perestroika (economic restructuring) under Gorbachev. It’s not the Opposition without that comes to power but the Opposition within. A house divided against itself cannot stand and must surely fall! The process begun by the Malaysian Malaysia movement, Islamic fundamentalists, the reformasi movement, BERSIH, Hindraf, the Bar Council and others yet to come will continue. There’s support from within the BN itself. For example, most Hindraf supporters are MIC members, a fact not lost on its president, Datuk Seri Samy Vellu. He behaves, to quote his Tamil accusations against others, as if the MIC is “his grandfather’s property”.

Every generation has a right to rule itself. When a leader stays too long in power, outstays his welcome, the baton of leadership eventually by-passes a generation, two or even three, when there’s a succession. This breeds deep resentment among those by-passed and their supporters. In MIC, in Sarawak, in Umno and elsewhere, many have been by-passed or even driven into the political wilderness, underground or exile and provide a fertile ground for political unrest. These are people who would not be persuaded by emotive calls on race, religion, and country or appeals to place the party interest above individual interest.

History of the future and the Samy Vellu I know -- the clock is ticking away for MIC, Umno, MCA, BN

by Joe Fernandez @ Fernz

The Sat 8 March 2008 General Election has come and gone, leaving a political tsunami in its wake. The Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) like other component parties of the ruling Barisan Nasional (BN), are still licking their wounds after having been battered and badly bruised by the Opposition.

Wither the MIC? Is the current re-branding exercise enough? How will they deal with a hostile Alternative Media and even more hostile Indian NGOs? Will merely changing the party logo and uniforms and entering the world of blogging at this late stage, being openly touted, save the day or at least postpone the evil day of reckoning? Is it a case of too little, too late?

What an organization like the MIC needs is an Indian “nationalist” to lead it if it wants to continue as a political party and remain relevant. There are serious issues besetting the Indian community and the effects can be felt in the 67-odd Parliamentary seats in Peninsular Malaysia where the Indian voter is the Kingmaker. This has become diehard Opposition territory after 50 years, in a mood to punish governments, and cannot be expected to change anytime soon. A watershed has been reached. Therein lies the crux of Malaysian politics, a case of the proverbial tail wagging the dog.

Party president Samy Vellu is too much above race to lead the MIC. In fact, he even seems embarrassed to raise the issues of the community. This was acknowledged by former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad himself on the eve of the March 8 GE. That’s the Samy I know. I first met him in late 1979 when I was Assistant Editor of the Asean Review and had to interview him shortly after he became Deputy President of the MIC.

Samy is also honest, punctual, all rare qualities in the MIC crowd, and energetic. No one, not even former Prime Minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, is as energetic as Samy. Present Prime Minister Abdullah Badawi is even more laidback than first Prime Minister Tunku Abdul Rahman and Third Prime Minister Hussein Onn. Second Prime Minister Abdul Razak tended to get bogged down in details and miss the big picture. Mahathir himself was a stickler for details as well but, from time to time, he kept the big picture in mind and these were his saving moments. There was even some method, albeit few and far between, in his madness.

Is Samy Vellu a “crook”, as they all say? Maybe! Aren’t they all “crooks” in politics? It’s not for me to judge. Let him who is without sin in politics cast the first stone. Or, let the courts decide after they, as promised, are cleaned up

Mysteriously, the great majority of the politicians who are labeled as crooks while in office, end up dirt poor when out of office and sit around grinning at all and sundry in the local kopi tiams, hoping for a free cuppa from passers-by in return for entertaining stories from their yesteryears. The work of good fairies? The late Mustapha Harun, hailed as the richest man in the world when he was Chief Minister of Sabah, not only couldn’t even afford to pay his power bills in semi-retirement, his English wife was only given her citizenship after his death to enable her to collect his pensions. Mustapha once told me and the late Asiaweek correspondent, Eddie Sequerah, that he helped many young high-ranking Peninsular Malaysian civil servants serving in Sabah to buy at least one house in the state for the family. Some bought two. These civil servants used to send their wives to him to plead for his help with the house purchase. Mustapha did not say whether he, who had an eye for the ladies and at the height if his power then, took advantage of these desperate wives. But there were other Chief Ministers a long time ago, in Malaysia, who emulated Mustapha but took advantage of the wives without rendering any aid in return. One got booted out at the polls while another unrepentant one was booted out of his office. One Chief Minister, who had a bedroom next to his office, even had pimps to scout around for potential victims among the attractive wives of civil servants.

So much for the digression. Again, should Samy Vellu head MIC as a political party? No!

Should he head MIC if it re-emerges as an NGO? Why not?

Did Samy fail the Indian community as the head of MIC the political party? Yes! Otherwise, Hindraf (Hindu Rights Action Force), would not have emerged like a hydra and taken to the streets of Kuala Lumpur in their tens of thousands after several failed attempts to meet with the Prime Minister.

Why did Samy fail?

(1) He was not vocal enough in raising Indian issues in the Cabinet and Government;
(2) He was done in by the civil service – 90 per cent Malay -- who have the “aku punya negeri” racist mindset and grudgingly doled out aid to the Indian community in drips and drabs in defiance of even their political masters. The Civil Service continues to be in a state of denial, oblivious to the fact that despite the continuing influx of immigrants from Indonesia and the Philippines in stepped up numbers since the late 1800s, the Malay community still continues to be less than 60 per cent of the Malaysian population;
(3) Successive Prime Ministers either looked the other way, closed one eye to the “racist” civil servants or had a wink wink relationship with them and sometimes offered some token sums at politically convenient times from the Prime Minister’s Department for Indian community aid programmes;
(4) He continually suffered from a bad press, the truth being stranger than the fiction, the man being in the clutches of a coterie of bad media advisors who kept him away from anyone who could threaten their position; and
(5) He had people around him who didn’t understand the Alternative Media and swore by the self-serving fare dished out by the mainstream media, all government-owned when not owned by various political parties in the ruling coalition.

Nearly five years ago, Samy Vellu did seek my opinion on the Alternative Media, at the Pan Pacific in Kota Kinabalu, while on a flying visit to work on some flyover projects. He put me in touch with Dr Denison Jayasooria of the MIC Think Tank, Yayasan Strategik Sosial, via his mobile phone and asked Dr Denison to keep in touch with me on the subject. Dr Denison, of course, never came back. What else is new? (What is that? Come again! Did I hear that you lost my contact number? Ask Samy. I don’t have his number or yours. No! I am not a MIC member and I don’t intend to join either.). MIC leaders are always suspicious of anything new or “outsiders”.

Should MIC continue as a political organization? It would not be a good idea in the wake of Hindraf’s makkal sakhti (people power) phenomenon as demonstrated by the March 8 political tsunami. Continuing to lock up the Hindraf 5 under the draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) would not help to resurrect the MIC either and rescue Umno’s “Social Contract” – the myth of continued Umno Malay political dominance to balance the infantile fact of the Chinese community having more millionaires than the Malay community -- with deceased non-Malay leaders.

What should MIC be? MIC should turn itself into an Indian NGO and work with other Indian NGOs in Malaysia, in the Indian Diaspora and in India. MIC can re-emerge as a parallel government for the Indian community in Malaysia. In short, a community government.

Should MIC continue as a member of BN? Why not?

Should MIC contest in elections as a member of BN? Again, why not?

What would replace MIC as a communal Indian political party? Hindraf and the other Indian political parties.

Should Umno and MCA emulate MIC and become NGOs? That would be for the better so that the race factor can be taken out of mainstream Malaysian politics. Mahathir, for example, could even return as Umno leader since he’s obsessed in retirement with “the fate of the Malays”. Mahathir was Prime Minister for 22 years and Malaysia has been under Malay Prime Ministers for the last 50 years i.e. since independence. Why is there still this concern about “the fate of the Malays?”

If MIC, Umno and MCA etc all become NGOs, what will happen to the Barisan Nasional? The BN should re-emerge, under current Prime Minister Badawi, as a multiracial political party in its own right. The MIC, Umno, MCA and others can be associates or affiliates of BN. The BN should equal Hindraf in its turf for equal rights; PKR in its turf for ketuanan rakyat; DAP in its turf for a Malaysian Malaysia; PAS in its turf for a Islam which eschews racialism; and the parties in Sabah and Sarawak in their turf for the restoration of regional autonomy and an equal share of the Federal Government.

What will happen if all the above is not done?

The BN will be history sooner rather than later and MIC, Umno, MCA etc will all end up in the dustbins of history. They will not even be footnotes in history and future generations of Malaysians will urinate on the graves -- a traditional Malay pastime -- of Samy Vellu, Mahathir and other leaders.