Minus Samy Vellu, voters see stronger MIC

MIC HAD FAILED MANY INDIANS AND TO CLAIM ITS GAINING CONFIDENCE IS A MIS-STATEMENT. INDIANS WILL SHOW THIS DISSATISFACTION AT THE POLLS.

EVEN PALANIVEL HAD FAILED BY NOT KEEPING HIS PROMISES TO HIS SINCERE VOTERS.

Samy Vellu resigned this month after having led MIC for more than three decades. — file pic

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 24 — Most voters in peninsular Malaysia believe Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s exit from MIC will help the party win back Indian support, according to a survey by the Merdeka Center this month.

Fifty-three per cent of those polled said they believed MIC will be able to regain the trust of Indians now that the veteran politician has stepped down as party president, while only 19 per cent disagreed.

The remaining 28 per cent said they did not know.

Malay voters were the most likely to agree, with 60 per cent confident that Samy Vellu’s retirement will allow the Barisan Nasional (BN) component party to recapture the Indian vote.

This was followed by Indians at 57 per cent and the Chinese community, where only 39 per cent thought the move could boost Indian support for MIC.

However, Indians themselves were the most sceptical of the party’s ability to deliver Indian votes in future, suggesting a lingering disenchantment within the community towards MIC.

Twenty-nine per cent of Indians disagreed that the recent retirement of Samy Vellu was helpful, compared to 19 per cent of Malays and 16 per cent of Chinese who felt the same.

Samy Vellu stepped down as MIC president earlier this month after 31 years helming the party.

He had increasingly been regarded as a political liability by Umno, with former premier Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad going so far as to claim that MIC’s poor showing in Election 2008 was due to Samy Vellu’s “failure” to lead the party.

MIC lost six out of nine incumbent parliamentary seats in that general election and received only 2.2 per cent of the total votes.

Following Samy Vellu’s retirement, his deputy, Datuk G. Palanivel, moved up to take over the MIC leadership, even as the party seeks to rebuild Indian support in time for possible snap polls next year.

Despite repeated denials, Najib has already placed his BN on an election footing, with most component parties, including Umno, putting off party polls next year to concentrate on the expected snap polls.

The BN chairman is said to be confident of regaining the customary two-thirds parliamentary majority after being denied by Pakatan Rakyat (PR) — the informal three-party pact that won four more states and 82 federal seats — in Election 2008. - Malaysian Insider