Few victors in battle to win trust of Indians

(NST) INDIAN Malaysians are spoiled for choice politically. The community, numbering around two million with perhaps half of them voters, is blessed to have so many political organisations seeking to serve them.

This has been more evident in recent times, with more individuals and groups stepping up to state their political positions and intentions to represent the Indian community.

Among them is the Malaysian Indian Democratic Action Front (Mindraf). Its founder, Manuel Lopez, says Mindraf has been promoted for the last three years and has some 3,000 active supporters.

The organisation's stated objectives are service-oriented, concentrating on issues affecting the Indian community, but the all-encompassing nature of politics may not make it easy to disentangle it from such issues.

It is also a question of staying power. Any political party would need to be continuously in the eyes, hearts and minds of its supporters and voters, and be seen to remain relevant to them.

Other Indian-based parties have come and gone before, mostly splintering away from existing political parties due to differences between and among leaders. Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) leaders, for example, have gone on to form their own parties following differences within the party.

The Democratic Malaysian Indian Party (DMIP) was floated by former MIC vice-president Datuk V. Govindaraj in 1985. The 76-year-old Govindaraj, who had been in the MIC since its founding in 1946, was elected to the MIC central working committee in 1978 and the very next year was elected member of parliament for Port Klang. In 1981, he was made chairman of Selangor MIC and was elected party vice-president.

But Govindaraj was suspended from the MIC in 1983 for a year for alleged abuse of power, and stayed suspended even after he won a court battle to have his suspension nullified. He was finally expelled from the MIC in 1984, whereupon he formed the DMIP.

He disbanded that party after failing to make headway in mainstream politics, and rejoined the MIC in 1997, with party president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu appointing him to the CWC. He was eventually sacked from that position in 2006.

Another MIC leader, the late Tan Sri M.G. Pandithan, founded the All Malaysian Indian Progressive Front, more commonly known as the Indian Progressive Front (IPF), in 1990.

The MIC had issued Pandithan a show-cause letter in June 1988, on his allegation that the party leadership had failed to fight for the rights of Indian Malaysians. He embarked on a "death fast" at the MIC headquarters' car park, bringing along a coffin and 50 supporters. He broke the fast after 28 hours, on the urging of then deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam.

Pandithan was expelled from the party in July that year, and formed the IPF in August 1990.

The new party supported the opposition coalition Gagasan Rakyat in the October 1990 general election. Pandithan unsuccessfully contested the Teluk Intan parliamentary seat. He later tried unsuccessfully to get IPF admitted into the Barisan Nasional in 1994, and the following year quit the opposition to pledge support to the BN.

Since Pandithan's death last year, the party has been in the doldrums. It has yet again applied to join the BN.

Then there's the Malaysian Indian United Party, formed in October 2007 by Datuk K.S. Nallakaruppan, who was formerly with the MIC and then Parti Keadilan Rakyat.

The MIUP, which Nallakaruppan says is independent but supportive of the BN, was registered on Sept 14, 2007 and claims 25,000 members nationwide. It did not contest any seats in the 2008 general election, instead supporting the BN.

The latest Indian-based political party to appear is the Malaysian Makkal Sakthi Party (MMSP), now green-lighted by the Registrar of Societies. Formed by several Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders, this party is led by former Hindraf national coordinator R.S. Thanenthiran.

The MMSP says it will remain neutral. Its pro tem secretary-general, Kannan Ramasamy, said since Hindraf was outlawed, it was timely that the movement and its support base had a legitimate alternative conduit.

Kannan said the new party would remain neutral and work with whichever coalition was willing to support Hin-draf's "18-point" demands.

"We are open to talks and negotiations with both Barisan Nasional and Pakatan Rakyat, and will support the coalition that supports our aspirations."

Other Indian-based political parties are the Indian Muslim Congress (Kimma in its own language) and the Punjabi Party of Malaysia.

In Indian Malaysian politics, however, all roads seem to lead back and forth from the MIC, which has been in existence for the last 64 years. With alternative Indian parties appearing and disappearing, it's small wonder that Samy Vellu remains unfazed by the possibility of new Indian-based political parties coming into existence.

The move to "rebrand" the MIC by various measures, including amending the party constitution, allowing for longer tenure in the respective wings, and launching a revamped web portal to be more attractive to the younger generation, hopes to maintain the viability and relevance of the MIC.

Any Indian Malaysian political party that wants to survive will have to go through good and bad times like all the rest, and continue striving to garner the necessary political support from a community that is fickle and suspicious these days.