Samy Vellu: Chosen leaders still weak and need help to strengthen themselves
By Baradan Kuppusamy (The Star)
KUALA LUMPUR: The most intensely fought MIC election ever ended with a status quo, despite a mood for change among some of the delegates.
Their numbers were simply not big enough to turn the tables on president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and his “official” line-up of candidates.
Another reason for the loss was that the anti-Samy Vellu votes were split between the challengers, Datuk S. Subramaniam and newcomer Datuk S. Sothinathan, allowing the endorsed line-up of candidates to win, although narrowly.
It now appears that having Sothinathan contest, in a strategy to split the opposition votes, worked handsomely for Samy Vellu’s official line-up, despite the mood for change.
Despite the defeat, Subramaniam’s “chan-ge for the better” theme remains relevant for the MIC, which is caught in the throes of a leadership change.
Incumbent Datuk G. Palanivel, 60, polled 629 votes for the deputy president’s post, edging out Subramaniam by only 82 votes, compared to the 483-vote victory he achieved in his maiden attempt against Subramaniam in 2006. (There were four spoilt votes.)
His victory clears the way for him to take over the party when Samy Vellu, who has vowed to stay until 2012, retires.
The big question is when?
“I will leave at the right time,” Samy Vellu told The Star yesterday, adding that the leaders he picked and endorsed by the delegates were still weak and need help to “strengthen” themselves to run the party.
However, the defeat does not spell the end of Subramaniam’s career because he polled a respectable 547 votes, indicating his standing in the MIC has not eroded after his 2006 loss.
Subramaniam, 65, who is Seputeh division chairman, is expected to remain in the MIC despite the loss, but he faces possible expulsion from the party for allegedly tarnishing its image over a number of issues.
Samy Vellu announced earlier in the week that Subramaniam will be issued a show-cause letter to answer the charges.
Subramaniam’s loss is all the more surprising because influential leaders like former prime minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad and others had also weighed in, urging MIC delegates to elect good and credible leaders like Subramaniam.
He had also labelled Samy Vellu as “destructive” and blamed him for why Indians voted for Pakatan Rakyat in 2008.
The third contender in the three-cornered fight, Sothinathan, polled 280 votes, a reasonably good showing for a first-timer fighting against the president’s choice and the charismatic Subramaniam.
Having deep-pockets, politically experienced and just 49, Sothinathan is expected to stay put in the MIC, work the ground over the next three years and return for a re-match.
The three official candidates for vice-presidents, including Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam and Datuk S.K. Devamani, also easily defeated the four challengers, including youthful newcomer P. Subra-maniam, who mounted a rigorous and intelligent campaign but failed to move the delegates.
After so much heat, the delegates chose status quo over change in the end, disappointing many, including the MIC rank-and-file.
