By FMT staff
KUALA LUMPUR: Deputy Prime Minister Muhyiddin Yassin found himself trapped between a rock and a hard place when opposition stalwart Lim Kit Siang asked if he was a Malay, or Malaysian first?
Some MIC members later joked that if the same question was posed to their party president S Samy Vellu, he would have replied, “I am Devar (a caste) first.”
On a serious note, although MIC and its leaders claim to champion the Indian community in Malaysia, the political organisation, however, operates along caste lines.
Samy Vellu is always said to give special preference to those of his caste, except in certain cases such as his protege and former vice-president S Sothinathan, who is a Gounder.
Caste has always played a central role in MIC politics, a poignant example being its former vice-president, the late MG Pandithan, who went on to form a splinter party called the Indian Progressive Front (IPF) after being sacked.
Pandithan was given a show-cause letter for practising caste politics, prompting him to stage a hunger strike at the MIC headquarters with a coffin to symbolise the death of democracy in the party. This earned him the boot.
While Samy Vellu and his men publicly admonish caste politics, the issue never fails to rear its ugly head during party elections and plays a pivotal role in determining the votes.
According to some sources, this is one of the reasons why Samy Vellu and like-minded leaders are uncomfortable with the idea of MIC deputy president G Palanivel taking over the leadership reins.
Palanivel would open up the party
The sources claimed that Palanivel rejected the idea of caste politics.
“This is one of the reasons why they fear him, he is not a caste man. The old guards and some younger leaders are worried that he would open up the party.
“If Palanivel comes to power, he would allow all to have an equal standing. There would be no such thing as caste domination,” they added.
The sources also pointed out that caste politics is a main factor why the more educated middle-class Indians and youths shun MIC.
“It is an archaic order which has no place in a globalised world. The prime minister is talking about uniting all races under the 1Malaysia concept, but MIC is dividing the Indian community itself.
“Palanivel realises this, and he knows that in order for MIC to remain relevant, it must shed its old ways and embrace new ideas,” they said.
Presidential term limit
Furthermore, the sources said some leaders in MIC are also afraid that Palanivel might introduce other radical reforms should he helm the party.
“He is mulling the possibility of limiting the presidential term to two terms to prevent the party from having presidents who sit there for decades, and some disagree with this,” they added.
The sources were responding to a report in FMT yesterday, which claimed that Samy Vellu was attempting to oust Palanivel.
The 74-year-old president is said to have been irked by Palanivel's comment that he was ready to take over MIC, based on what Samy Vellu had told FMT in a recent exclusive interview.
Now, Samy Vellu is apparently backing vice-president and Human Resources Minister Dr S Subramaniam, a fellow Devar, for the number two post.
The MIC president is also hoping that his successor would help his son Vell Paari rise up in the party hierachy.
“He can trust a Devar to do so, but would he be able to trust Palanivel?” they asked.
The sources also said that Samy Vellu is pressed for time because Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak wants the veteran out before the next general election and had pressured him to put in a transition plan.
“He is being sidelined by the BN leadership, especially Najib. Even in the issue of senatorship for Palanivel, everyone was caught by surprise that the swearing-in would be on Monday,” they said.
The senator position is part of the compromise package for Palanivel to allow MIC information chief P Kamalanathan to contest in the recently-concluded Hulu Selangor by-election.
The talk is that Palanivel would also be made a deputy minister, but this puts him in an akward position, given that the more junior Subramaniam is a full minister.
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