Let he who is without sin stone Samy

By RK Anand - Free Malaysia Today,

COMMENT KUALA LUMPUR: Let he who is without sin cast the first stone, said the Lord Jesus Christ to a group of Pharisees who caught a woman in the act of adultery and had reminded the prophet that under Mosaic Law she should be stoned to death.
This is hardly a case of biblical equivalence, but the moral of the story remains the same. There are now many bent on stoning MIC president S Samy Vellu, whose sins, according to his accusers, range from corruption to tyranny.
It would be nothing short of an impossible feat if one attempted to convince the people that the MIC president, or any politician, or from Jesus' perspective, any human, is free of taint.
Although not found guilty by a court of law, Samy Vellu was, however, judged in the court of public perception decades ago. And that is the point - decades ago.
Imbroglios like the Maika Holdings and Telekom shares scandals have been making the rounds for years alongside the other scandals involving leaders from other parties. Samy Vellu was even cleared by the then Anti-Corruption Agency of any wrongdoing, amid cries of a cover-up.
In the not too distant past, a group of Pakatan Rakyat leaders and their supporters organised a protest march to the MIC headquarters, demanding justice for Maika's shareholders. MIC Youth mounted a counter protest demanding an explanation over the Kampung Buah Pala fiasco, and the two groups traded insults and blows.
Ironically, it was some of the same faces who are now part of the Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu (GAS) movement who were the more animated of participants in the counter protest to defend the president and his son Vell Paari, the chief executive officer of Maika Holdings.
Today, we hear some MIC leaders uttering words once absent from their vocabulary such as democracy, transparency and tolerance. This is a step forward of course, but the degree of sincerity and timing remain questionable.
Some are genuine, but had chose to keep these ideals under wraps for fear of falling out of favour with the president and witnessing a premature end to their political aspirations.
Pirates of the Carribean

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Push him to a corner, and he might just spill the alleged beans and take the whole lot down with him. At the age of 74, and after witnessing many battles, Samy Vellu is surely not one to be rattled by the Official Secrets Act.

If his critics were Hollywood filmmakers, they would probably cast Samy Vellu as Captain Jack Sparrow, but that would make MIC, the Black Pearl. Like winning or losing an election, it takes team effort to be the Pirates of the Carribean.
So if the captain is indeed guilty of the charges of plunder and thievery, what did the rest of his shipmates do? Some helped him enrich the coffers while others, not only stood by and watched, but kept singing praises of the captain, helping him to remain at the helm to continue his misdeeds.
After all, the spoils were for all hands on board, and not for one. Lest we forget, the alleged plunder had happened right under the very nose of the empire's vessels, which chose to turn a blind eye despite being tasked with patrolling the seas to keep piracy at bay.
Is this not an act of complicity? But the rule of the day then, was why rock the boat when the sailing is smooth?
Then came the 2008 political tsunami, the Black Pearl was battered. Jack Sparrow was wounded, and a mutiny began to take shape. The crew were afraid that they would have to follow the captain into Davy Jones' Locker.
The pre-general election Samy Vellu was different. He was a mighty minister, the close confidant of former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad and his successor, and had the full-backing of Umno, MCA, The Star, Utusan Malaysia, TV3, the government and its apparatuses.
In MIC, except for the lone voice of former deputy president S Subramaniam and his band of political outcastes, the rest were all the president's men, subscribing to nature's law - where there be nectar, there be bees.
Even Subramaniam had disappointed his men. Instead of going for the jugular when he had the chance, he chose to run to Samy Vellu's side to strike a truce in the guise of rebuilding MIC but in reality hoping that in the next party elections, he would be able to win back the number two post without interference from his nemesis. But this gamble backfired.
Some, even his closest aides, felt that Subramniam should have moved on a long time ago when he was courted by the opposition or challenged Samy Vellu for the top post. As it stands, his only notable achievement is running a newspaper which serves no other purpose apart from tarnishing Samy Vellu and his minions.
Enter the Hindraf factor
When dawn broke on November 25, 2007, it marked the political awakening of the Indian community and the begining of slumber for BN. The rally was more of a class struggle than racial disastisfaction coming to the fore. It was a timebomb, doomed to explode sooner or later.
Some of the points raised by Hindraf were legitimate but the MIC president opposed it because Umno opposed it, and because Samy Vellu opposed it, the rest of MIC, except for those with an axe to grind with him, opposed it as well.
Hindraf's main grouse was with Umno, it's beef with Samy Vellu was that he was a pawn in the hands of his political masters, and the usual Maika Holdings and corruption allegations.
Now, GAS' leaders claim that if Samy Vellu is removed, the Indian community would return its support to BN en masse. Many in MIC and Umno believe this, even Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak thinks so.
They claim that Umno has changed its ways and the Indians are warming up to the new order. But has Umno reformed? Perhaps its president, at least on a superficial level, and like in MIC, when the Umno president reforms, the others are forced to toe the line regardless of how they might feel inside.
Umno Baru's founding father Mahathir hit the bullseye when he said that the Malays feel that Umno could no longer protect them because it (read Najib) is too caught up with seducing the Chinese voters, and therefore have to form groups like Perkasa.
Perkasa's boss Ibrahim Ali let the cat out of the bag when he quipped that Najib was probably secretly thanking him for criticising the Chinese voters, since the prime minister is unable to do so because he is waving the 1Malaysia flag. So are these reforms sincere, or just a PR stunt?
GAS, a numerical failure
The much-hyped GAS launch was a numerical failure, especially when some quarters were expecting a repeat of Hindraf's epochal rally. So what went wrong?
First and foremost, saving MIC from the clutches of a “tyrannical” leader and redeeming BN's electoral chances are not the responsibilities of the Indian community. It is a party matter, an internal crisis.
Some of the more discerning middle-class and opposition-leaning Indians are hoping that the crisis continues so that MIC and BN could be wiped out in the next polls. The poor showing, according to observers, also revealed how irrelevant MIC has become, to the point that the Indians were not prepared to waste a Sunday afternoon on it.
GAS should be rallying the MIC members, leaders, and more importantly, the branch chairmen who voted for Samy Vellu in the first place. All said and done, he is the democratically elected president who won unopposed and his term only expires in 2012.
There is no doubt that Samy Vellu has overstayed his welcome and his continued presence does not bode well for the party, but one wonders; should Samy Vellu decide to call for another presidential election to end this crisis, would he still win?
Second factor is Umno
While Umno vehemently denied playing a role in GAS, many, however, remain unconvinced because its fingerprints are all over the crime scene. Perhaps, the initial plan was to show that GAS has Umno's tacit backing, and this would somehow embolden the Indians and MIC members to come forward. But this proved to be a mistake because in some circles the resentment towards Umno is far greater than the resentment towards Samy Vellu.
For them, having an Umno-installed MIC president means only one thing, subservience.
Another factor which worked against GAS is the credibility of the movement's leaders themselves. For example, V Mugilan. The question is: if Samy Vellu had backed his candidacy for the Hulu Selangor seat, would have GAS been born?
However, Samy Vellu was wrong in sacking Mugilan and the other three leaders. The bait was set and he took it. Some blame this on ill advice from his confidants. It was a mistake both politically and democratically. Dissenting voices must be tolerated. Differing opinions must be engaged without abritrary expulsions.
The MIC constitution insists that these executions be carried out in consultation with the number two. Rumour has it that deputy president G Palanivel had protested, but it fell on deaf ears. So he had no choice but to play it safe as it would be too risky to do anything else.
His supporters deny that it was an act of self-preservation but that he is biting his lip in quiet angst because he wants to reform from within when he takes over, if he does take over, since there is also talk of a plot to remove him in favour of vice-president Dr S Subramaniam.
The secretary-general (now former) made a bolder stand, but there were also rumours that he was acting on behalf of powerful backers with a vendetta against Samy Vellu, and it was an unwise move to share the same venue as GAS leaders to voice his opposition while at the same time distancing himself from the movement.
Some also feel that GAS would have made more sense if it was formed after next September should Samy Vellu renege on his promise to step down.
Previously, Mugilan said he wanted Samy Vellu ro relinquish his post by the year-end and the president's deadline was nine months later. So if MIC and BN could tolerate him for 30 years, why not nine more months? Unless, Najib is preparing to call for a general election and needs a clean slate from MIC as soon as possible.
Do they fear his secrets?
Now, there is talk of a deal being brokered and Samy Vellu could be offered other roles in order to expedite his exit. There are those who wonder why Najib is reluctant to openly call on Samy Vellu to step down, and continues to hide behind the BN mantra of non-interference?
Perhaps, this is what sets Samy Vellu apart from the rest.
He has always claimed to have copies of the cabinet minutes, and God knows what other classified documents, dating from the time of Mahathir. The MIC president is known to be a fighter who exudes a sense of grudging respect even from his adversaries.
Push him to a corner, and he might just spill the alleged beans and take the whole lot down with him. At the age of 74, and after witnessing many battles, Samy Vellu is surely not one to be rattled by the Official Secrets Act.
Furthermore, in the internet age, it would not be too difficult to start up an anomymous blog, dump the information there, and leave a trail for the media to pick it up and paint Putrajaya red.
So if Samy Vellu is indeed guilty of all those allegations, then there is not a single court in this land with a dock big enough to house all those who had allegedly abetted him over the last three decades, statesmen included.