How dare Palanivel challenge Najib!

Indian political parties only serve to add humour and colour to BN’s political setup.

COMMENT - FMT

I thought I wouldn’t have to write again about MIC and its president G Palanivel. Yet I find myself pulled towards writing yet another article.

In his address, post-announcement as minister odd-job and Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak’s dogsbody, Palanivel issued a statement.

He declared that he will pull out of Barisan Nasional (BN) if another Indian-based political party or parties are accepted into the BN. He wants MIC to be the sole representative of the Indians.

I have written before that maybe Najib is better off accepting Palanivel’s bluff and substance-less audacity.

See whether Indian votes will improve with no MIC ministers around.

If they are booted out, MIC people will do what they typically do – grovel at the feet of Umno leaders.
They will do what they actually do best, which is “cosseting and mollycoddling Umno-BN leaders”.

Najib will be garlanded with mountainous rings of poo malai (flower garlands), with Palanivel hand-feeding morsels of food to Najib and Rosmah Mansor and calling Najib, “mama” (uncle) and Rosmah as “amma” (mother).

Let us remind Palanivel that MIC isn’t the government. The MIC represents the interest of Indians who subscribed to its political agenda but it doesn’t represent ALL Indians.

Other Indians, too, have the right to be considered admission into the BN.

Najib’s inherent fear

I am not sure if one has the right over admission into BN (as KS Nallakaruppan asserted) but certainly Nallakaruppan has the right to be considered. A right is what you actually worked for or owned naturally.
One doesn’t have a right over something that’s owned by someone else. Admission into BN is owned by Umno and the senior parties.

Nallakaruppan only owns his own right to submit application. But why should Indian parties consider joining BN at all?

Perhaps they should ponder over the advantages of staying independent and being a wild card.

Najib has an inherent fear of wild cards. Palanivel knows this and that’s why he is talking big.

Staying outside allows you to make threats and demands which stand a better chance at being accommodated.

Inside BN, your demands will be subsumed by MIC’s.

Peons and thambis

In any case, look at the record. MIC only managed to win three parliamentary (four now with Hulu Selangor, which it won in a by-election last year) seats in the 2008 general election. One seat in Cameron Highlands (SK Devamany), one in Segamat (Dr S Subramaniam) and another in Tapah (M Saravanan).

Can MIC clones and wannabes succeed where MIC failed?

The People’s Progressive Party (PPP) and Indian Progressive Front (IPF) will remain at best, BN’s peons and thambis.

A strong and big MIC is only necessary when Umno is big and strong. Umno itself is struggling to regain the trust of the reasonable Malay man in the street.

It follows then when big brother Umno is not strong, the need to have one Indian party under MIC is not relevant. Even the MIC is now an irrelevant convenience.

Indian political parties only serve to add humour and colour to BN’s political setup. And they add to that humour by remaining separate and many, not swallowed under one party such as MIC.

Ruffled Nallakaruppan and Palanivel’s audacity

Palanivel’s statement has ruffled Nallakaruppan, who was once Anwar Ibrahim’s tennis partner and major domo for his other extramural activities. But Nallakaruppan is now Anwar’s nemesis.

Nallakaruppan is angered by Palanivel’s statement because Nallakaruppan says his party is pro-BN.
Most probably, other Indian-based parties such as IPF and PPP share the same frustrations and disdain at the statements of mandore Palanivel.

But there is more than catches the eye. Palanivel is in effect saying, he wants only MIC MPs to be appointed ministers.

Only a day after being appointed as minister, he is already dictating terms to the PM.
The PM has the prerogative to appoint members to the federal Cabinet. Palanivel knows this, so how do we explain his audacity to dictate?

Because he knows Najib has one character flaw – Najib has the obsession to please everyone.
So what can we make of Palanivel’s statement over what the PM is authorised to do? It only shows the PM is a poor judge of character.

He should not have chosen Palanivel as minister in the first place. And a day after the appointment, Palanivel has in effect shown his arrogance and lust for power.

He wants the PM to listen to what he says despite the fact that the MIC cannot win more seats in the next general election.

The writer is a former Umno state assemblyman and an FMT columnist.