A new man in charge, new hairstyle but same old results?

After lying low for a while, the MIC is back in the limelight with G Palanivel finally getting a full minister's post after taking over the MIC presidency from Samy Vellu. Palanivel was offered the post of a full minister in the PM’s department, but already, the appointment has started to ruffle a few feathers.

Palanivel was MP for Hulu Selangor from 1990 to 2004 until his loss in the 2008 general election. The BN leadership decided to field P Kamalanathan in place of Palanivel after the seat fell vacant, saying they wanted a ‘winnable candidate.’ Soon after the by-election, Palanivel was made a senator and given a deputy minister’s post.

Critics are puzzled by the rationale; “If he was not a winnable candidate for the Hulu Selangor by-election, why appoint him a full minister? He did not win any posts by merit and this is the setback not only for him but also for the MIC. MIC will be indebted to UMNO until Palanivel is replaced,” one MIC leader added.

The cruncher would be when the list of MIC candidates is named for the next general election. “Which seat are they going to give him? What happens if Palanivel loses in the next general election? Will UMNO take back the second minister’s post? The appointment only raises more questions than answers.”

Walkout threat

Palanivel also shocked other Indian-based parties supportive of the BN when he announced that MIC will “walk out” of the Barisan Nasional if the ruling coalition allowed other Indian-based parties to join as direct members,

“UMNO does not allow any other Malay parties to join the BN, neither does MCA, while Gerakan is a multi-racial party. If UMNO allows other Malay-based parties to join BN as direct members, we do not mind,” MIC president G Palanivel said.

He also said that the party is holding discussion with several Indian-based splinter parties to return to the MIC fold. “If they decide to merge with MIC, then we will become more powerful.”

Recently, Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin had announced that the IPF was close to becoming a BN partner. In response to Palanivel's walkout threat, IPF president M Sambanthan said that Palanivel is just the MIC president, not president of all Malaysian Indians and what he said was against PM Najib Tun Razak’s wish for unity.

"What if we, in IPF, do not back MIC in the general election?” said Sambanthan. He also added that IPF would be able to swing the support of 200,000 Indians from the Pakatan Rakyat in favour of BN if his party is given full membership.

MIUP president S Nallakaruppan said that “joining BN is my right,” adding that Palanivel’s statement was a veiled threat to other Indian-based parties that are BN-friendly. “If no other Indian parties are allowed to be in BN, the community will go to the opposition,” he added.

Indian 'unity'

But despite the harsh words, in the end, both MIUP and IPF leaders said they had no problems working together to unite Indians under the BN banner revealing that MIC president G Palanivel had also asked them to join his party. Nallakaruppan also praised Palanivel for making the right decision to unite the Indian community.

Sambanthan however said the proposal could cause a rift in IPF, with many members opting to join the opposition. Even so, he said the party would support any candidates backed by BN even if the person was from MIC. “

Palanivel had also announced that MIC will not give up its 9 Parliament and 19 state assembly seats even though the party recorded a dismal win of 3 Parliament and 7 state assembly seats in the 2008 general election. “If BN wants to swap seats with us, we are prepared to talk but we will not let go the 9 Parliament and 19 state seats.”

Palanivel also showed some ingenuity in the party's voter regsitration drive. He said that incentives like i-Pads and trips to Hindu temples in India will be awarded to branch leaders who bring in 1,000 MIC members to be registered as voters. We want MIC to become a powerful voting block. Although Indians are a minority in the country, we can become a powerful party if we register 600,000 of our members as voters,” said Palanivel.

Putting its foot down for the wrong reasons

Some MIC leaders also questioned MIC’s priorities and rationale for the ‘walk out’ threat. When the Interlok issue was raging, why was there was no threat of a walk out. Neither was there one when Indian students were denied places in higher institutions of learning, or when thousands of Indians born and bred in this country were denied citizenships in this country.

But whether Palanivel makes good on his promise to ‘walk out’, the time will come when other Indian based parties like IPF are accepted into the BN fold. The same goes for the current number of Parliament and state seats held by the MIC.

And with such a blatant veiled threat of a walk out, IPF and MUIP are still cushioning up to MIC under the excuse of Indian unity. Even the figure of 600,000 MIC voters seems overly inflated and quite incredible by any standards. Some say it is mathematically impossible, but then who is counting?

Needless to say, many Indians in the country are disillusioned with the MIC for all its failed efforts to address the problems facing the Indians today. And most are not convinced that the MIC will be able to take back more seats than it lost in the 2008 election.

On a lighter note, critics are also wondering what MCA has got to say about the appointment of a new full-fledged Minister, especially Chua Soi Lek. All eyes are also on Hindraf, which is expected to make mince meat of Palanivel over the ‘walk out’ threat comment.

- Malaysia Chronicle