Samy Vellu, GAS and Quid pro quo

The masses were urged to convene at the Mines Convention Center on Sunday to register their contempt for Samy and accelerate his departure. But that show did not unfold as envisioned by the GAS organizers. Why? 

I think the answer is simple. What GAS wants is only a change in the driver of the bus but essentially it would be the SAME bus. The Malaysian Indians want a new bus, a modern bus, a transparent bus, an efficient bus that can clearly transport them complete with all rights and privileges as rightfully entitled in modern Malaysia. 

By SP Nathan

I refer to the media reports that Samy Vellu is prepared to retreat if something important (position) is given to him. The question is, why this quid pro quo request?

Is power such a strong aphrodisiac that one will not be able to continue life without it?

Or is there another reason? 

Could it be that after all his usefulness to UMNO, he finds it hard to accept he is being ditched. It’s akin to an end of a passionate love affair and the scorn of a ditched person. And as the norm, once the terms of divorce or split is agreed (including a high position), sanity prevails. 

The quid pro quo request from Samy actually reveals the state of affairs of MIC, that MIC does not have the interests of the common Indian at heart. The fact that the head honcho is only looking at what he can carve out for himself from a “situation” clearly confirms what ails MIC, self interest. Does he really think he deserves this “pay off”?   

Well, this “pay off” is not what really bothers me. What really bothers me is that in the realm of politics, there would always be situations, mostly between vested interest groups for some form of outcome. And whether Samy, when facing such situations in his entire reign in power, has done what is right for the Indians and accepting the quid pro quo solution like he is proposing now. The answer, I think, is quite obvious, given the dismal state Indians are in today. And this is what disturbs me. 

So GAS wants Samy to go. The masses were urged to convene at the Mines Convention Center on Sunday to register their contempt for Samy and accelerate his departure. But that show did not unfold as envisioned by the GAS organizers. Why? 

I think the answer is simple. What GAS wants is only a change in the driver of the bus but essentially it would be the SAME bus. The Malaysian Indians want a new bus, a modern bus, a transparent bus, an efficient bus that can clearly transport them complete with all rights and privileges as rightfully entitled in modern Malaysia.  

Further GAS offered not only the same bus but one that was truly outdated as it was not running on gas … no firm new plan was forwarded, other than slamming Samy. 

Like how GAS needs a new bus, the MIC, to serve its constituency, the Malaysian Indians need a complete revamp, a totally new culture of doing things, a new mindset not just a new driver.  

Which I think, given the current coterie of leaders is not possible. Why? 

It is quite obvious from the GAS turnout and general attitude of Indians towards MIC that MIC does not matter anymore. The attitude of the leaders over the years and treatment of voters during the “buy elections” where the voters are deemed as commodities; waiting to be bought at the right price has made MIC one big ATM where even the voters are adapt at the “quid pro quo” approach. This, as every politician worth his salt knows, is not genuine support. The change promised post March 8 2008 has not descended upon MIC leaders. They are running not a political but a welfare organization and remain clueless over the difference. In short, they do not know what they stand for, only what they want. They are void of a political ideology. 

MIC needs genuine political support  to remain relevant in the still evolving Malaysian political landscape which is now being transformed into a modern “bus terminal”. The odd old buses still cranking around would soon be barred from this new terminal. 

To garner genuine political support, MIC needs to make the members and non-members trust them. They should convince them they do not subscribe to the past “ quid pro quo” approaches. They should show they are not in for self serving purposes but to sincerely strive for the masses. 

So how can the new political leaders position themselves as different? That they have a new bus and not just a new driver. Mere verbal discourses will not do.  

For starters, enact a rule that the driver of the bus will be changed after a number of years. And next, the most important, ensure that the passengers of the bus are persons of high integrity, committed to the community causes and willing to be transparent in all matters. 

By being transparent, I mean the passengers i.e. the new political leaders should be willing to publicly declare their assets and should continue to declare their assets as long as they hold public office. They should declare that they and their immediate family members shall not in any way benefit financially as a result of them holding office. And building this trust, I believe, is the roadmap towards regaining political support for MIC and this can only be a beginning. 

If they can do that, then I think MIC can hope to get back the support of the common Malaysian Indian. Otherwise, MIC will continue to remain as it is now, IRRELEVANT.