YOURSAY | Who is supposed to be looking out for the Indians?

 

YOURSAY | ‘Vigneswaran, what did you and your MIC do over 60 years?’

Audit your GE14 promises to Indians first, MIC chief tells Anwar

Koel: It’s good to see your face now that elections are around the corner, MIC president SA Vigneswaran.

But why should PKR president Anwar Ibrahim or anyone else do the audit when allegations are about your party and its role in making people's funds disappear?

Let's start with Maika. What have you and your party members done to return the hard-earned money of poor Malaysians of Indian ethnicity who lost to dubious schemes? Do you even know the names of those poor folks?

And what transparent investigations have you conducted into allegations against Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) and the Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra)?

Enough of the strut and swagger. Let's see some real work for the people. If you don't have that courage, it may be time to hold your tongue.

Falcon: What 'don’t spook the Malays’ Anwar stated was predictable, in a “sea of Indians gathered at a PKR meet”.

But instead of responding to the issues at hand, did Vigneswaran say, “Thank you, Anwar! We will set up a high-powered task force of independent third parties with integrity to address these issues led by so and so and his team and to present its findings without prejudice in 30 days. No one is untouchable. This is my assurance"?

But no, Vigneswaran responds as expected, defensively, stung by the party's long-held baggage of inappropriate behaviour. There is no commitment from MIC to address injustices and wrongs done to the Indian community.

Ponmalai: I am an Indian. Do we need a party solely for the Indians? If it is a must, then let’s look at the track record of MIC.

As much as we do not like Umno spearheading the interest of the Malays, why do we need MIC to do the same for the Indians? A multiracial party like PKR would be a better platform to voice our grouses.

I was an investor with Maika Holdings and I am aware of the returns I had after umpteen years. Talk is cheap. Saudara Anwar is certainly right.

Mariupol: Anwar was the first finance minister in the country who allocated 10 million TM shares to poor Indians in the 1990 IPO (initial public offering).

The infamous Maika debacle featured former works minister S Samy Vellu with Dr Mahathir Mohamad at the helm.

This was followed up by the MIED fiasco. All these fiascos occurred under the nose of MIC as part of the government of the day.

Anwar ended up in Sungai Buloh prison in 1998 and the rest is history.

Mahathir was back as prime minister again in 2018 and helmed a different ship for 22 months. Anwar was still in Sungai Buloh prison then but was released without any executive post and sidelined.

To be fair, Vigneswaran, you have the right to ask about Pakatan Harapan's manifesto regarding Indians. At the same time, MIC should be open to cooperating with the forensic audit proposed by Anwar instead of asking him to answer for Harapan.

Cogito Ergo Sum: Vigneswaran, at least they tried. But your ‘inside man’, former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad, dismantled everything from within Harapan.

If there is nothing to hide, why do you fear a forensic audit of all the huge MIC projects that went bust? Why don’t you call Anwar’s bluff and do a forensic yourself now before the 15th general election?

You won’t. Because there is too much to hide and too many will be exposed by putting their hands in the muruku jar.

IndigoTrout2522: Harapan only had 22 months before being disrupted by you and those in Perikatan Nasional. What did you and your MIC do for the Indian community over 60 years?

So just do your own audit. You and your MIC have made more promises and given more allocations. Can you explain?

Quigonbond: Politicians rely on how dumb voters are. But voters need reminding - no promises can be kept when one does not have power.

Apanama is Back: Vigneswaran needs to protect his own skin. He will not undertake any audit for those three Indian-related establishments.

The whole MIC will collapse once a forensic audit is carried out even on one of these establishments. That is how fragile the party is with these politicians.

Iphonezours: Vigneswaran, the Indian community lost trust in MIC way back in 2008, and after three general elections, you are now a mosquito party that relies on Umno’s grace.

Why ask for an audit of Harapan’s accomplishments in helping the Indian community when it was only in power for 22 months while MIC/BN was in government for nearly 60 years?

You should have risen to Anwar’s challenge for an audit of your accomplishments, and misdeeds if any.

My Brother Did It: Indeed, how can Harapan show their achievements went you lot rushed to hijack the government clandestinely?

Regardless, Harapan's biggest achievement for Indians is stopping the persecution of some DAP members of ridiculous LTTE (Liberation Tigers of Tamil Eelam) allegations.

By the way, I do not recall any MIC office bearers objecting to the arrest of the DAP members.

You think voters would forget that? And you, when you were Senate president, supported the suspension of the Parliament through the declaration of emergency. That's akin to a vegetarian saying it's okay to kill animals and eat them.

I suspect the PAS non-Muslim wing has more Indian supporters than you lot.

Ruslan Bahari: MIC, like MCA, are just there to make up the numbers. The leaders of the party are more than happy to dance to the tune of their political overlords, Umno.

The above may have worked well pre-2018, but today, it doesn't cut it anymore. The population wants equality and meritocracy.

Remember all the so-called support for Najib Abdul Razak's pre-jail gathering? They were likely to be paid to be there, and it paints a picture that Umno has the backing of people.

Did you notice the solidarity for Najib's walk planned for two Sundays ago was not attended by anyone? Those now making noises about Najib are only his family and Umno. Indeed, the man in the street is happy he is out of the picture. - Mkini