KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 17 - MIC president Datuk Seri S Samy Vellu is a man under siege.
In recent weeks, the veteran politician has been witnessing noisy protests wherever he goes, in a sign of mounting opposition to his plans to seek re-election as party president despite leading MIC to its worst electoral performance in the March general elections.
He is now facing strong opposition - from within the MIC and the Indian community - to his plan to seek re-election for another three-year term in March.
While the protest from the MIC is of the silent kind with members and leaders quietly boycotting his functions, that from the greater Indian community is direct and vocal and has led to scuffles with Samy Vellu's supporters.
To avoid confrontation, Samy has tried to make unannounced appearances at functions to rally party members to back his re-election but it is understood that frequently MIC members would tip-off Hindraf or Makkal Sakthi supporters who immediately organise noisy anti-Samy Vellu protests at these functions.
Wherever he goes, his schedule is leaked by party insiders and his opponents cleverly use text messages to rally sometimes up to 300 people to stage protests.
Scuffles have frequently broken out forcing Samy Vellu to move around with a large group of "unofficial" bodyguards in addition to the police guards who follow him everywhere.
In Carey Island last week a scuffle broke out between Hindraf supporters and Samy Vellu's "unofficial" bodyguards over the failure of Samy Vellu to fulfil his promise to pay "a dollar for a dollar" to all 65,000 shareholders of the defunct Maika Holdings, the MIC's investment arm.
The scuffles ended after a respected local leader promised the protesters that he would intervene with Samy Vellu and persuade him to pay up.
In addition MIC members are also protesting by openly resigning and joining PKR as had happened in Sungei Buloh on Saturday and Teluk Intan on Sunday.
In Klang on Wednesday a "re-branding" dinner function ended in chaos with MIC members showing scan respect to the party president by milling around, talking to themselves and walking away while he was speaking.
An infuriated Samy Vellu walked out but not before lambasting a Tamil newspaper reporter while others in his entourage manhandled him, seized his camera and erased the photographs he had taken.
The Maika issue was also raised in Parliament this week with opposition MPs M. Kulasegaran (Ipoh Barat) and G. Gobalakrishnan (Padang Serai) attacking Samy Vellu for failing to pay-up as he had promised Maika shareholders in 2007.
Both wanted the ACA to investigate why Maika had collapsed despite raising RM110 million from the community in 1986.
"We want the ACA to investigate, we want to know where the money went. The shareholders and the Indian community have a right to know. They need closure," Gobalakrishnan told the Malaysian Insider.
"This scandal has been hanging on our heads for too many years," he said while urging the Finance Ministry to investigate and issue a White Paper in parliament on the failure of Maika Hindings.
As the issues pile up and the protests mount, Samy Vellu is increasingly under pressure to announce a retirement plan, put the party affairs in order and leave the scene.
"Clearly he is under siege...there must be an ending. The community needs it," said former MIC division leader K. P. Samy, a veteran member whose views often reflect grassroots sentiment.
Former MIC vice-president Datuk M. Muthupalaniappan is challenging Samy Vellu and with anti-Samy Vellu sentiment high, is hoping to garner enough votes to embarrass Samy Vellu into giving up.
"He wants to do what Datuk Haji Sulaiman Palestine did to Tun Hussein Onn," a MIC veteran said referring to how Hussein was embarrassed by Sulaiman in the 1978 Umno election, forcing him to quit eventually.
"Muthu stands a fair chance of succeeding because the grassroots sentiments in the community are so strongly against Samy Vellu," said the veteran.
"In the MIC the protest is silent but in the community it is open and red hot," he told The Malaysian Insider.
Samy Vellu is also increasingly coming under tremendous pressure from BN and Umno leaders, to at least do a "Rafidah Aziz" - contest to safe face but hand over to a successor by the end of 2009.
"He has to set his house in order so that the BN can reform and present a new face and agenda to the people," a BN component party leader said. "The MIC has to go the way of the MCA and Gerakan and begin the long and hard process of rehabilitating themselves."
"We have to get ready for the next big test or we will fail for good," he said adding all eyes are now on Samy Vellu and how he would respond to the challenge.
Samy Vellu is strongly resisting any moves to force him to quit but party insiders said he is expected to "come around" especially after the new Umno leadership led by Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak takes power in March.
"He is watching and waiting to see how the Umno transition takes place before showing his hand," they said.
Whatever the case Samy Vellu's plan to stay beyond 2009 is clearly untenable as the grassroots are revolting at the very mention of his name.
He is questioned and criticised at every turn, not just over the failure of Maika Holding but also on the election losses and the future of the MIC and the Indian community.
At every re-branding seminar attended by mostly younger MIC members, biting questions are asked including why MIC is so supportive of Umno when there is so much dissatisfaction with Umno among the Indian grassroots.
"We are the one who face the people everyday and we know how bad is the reputation of the party and it's president," a MIC division leader said.
"We don't see a future for the MIC as long as Samy Vellu refuses to leave. With all the rules in his favour he might win the election. Sadly there is no room for him in the community," the leader said.
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