Death threats and the MIC

Time for Indians to wake up to face the realities

Datuk S. Krishnasamy, the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) assemblymanfor Tenggaroh, was gunned down at gunpoint publicly in bright daylight. MIC president, Datuk Seri Samy Velu, revealed that the victim had received death threats prior to his assasination.Samy Velu himself admitted having received such threats before. In a matter of a day or so, it was reported that another senior national MIC leader, received a call saying he was next on the hit list.

Such acts of violence to settle disputes are uncivilized and barbaric and must be strongly condemned by all in and outside the government. There can be no justification for anyone to take the law into their hands for whatever reason. The police and other law enforcement agencies must come hard on such people or parties regardless of who they may be.

Having said that it is pertinent to ask what is happening to the MIC, the sole component in the Barisan National (BN) coalition representing the Indians? Are these death threats and assassination politically motivated? We would like to think otherwise, but going by the events that are unfolding in the last couple of months, it may drive one to think it may be so.

Samy Velu, who had been at the helm of the party for over 25 year, and the MIC leadership have serious problems at hand. They must come out of the state of denial and face the realities on the ground; the Indian community is beginning to lose confidence in the very party that was in their blood for over 50 years.

Why is this so? The main reason is that the party leadership over the years had taken the people's trust for granted and given in to arrogance. They had successfully eliminated dissenting voices so much so the supreme leader had become surrounded by those out to just please him thereby losing touch with the grassroots.

The Indian Community being small as it is cannot afford to be divided. It has to be represented by just one party which has been the MIC and there is no reason why it should not continue to do so. What is needed is change within the party to make it relevant to the Indians once more.Whether the Indians like it or not they have to accept that fact and ensure that the MIC works well in protecting their rights and promoting their interests. If they find it is failing them, then they must strive for change within the party.

At the same time the leadership must be more open to dissenting voices not stifle them. They should be more receptive to change for the betterment of the community as a whole. Healthy dialogue and debate should be encouraged; talented and capable younger leaders allowed to rise up the ladder of hierarchy without favoritism or prejudice but based on real merits. Nepotism, an evil that brings self-destruction, must never be allowed to take roots in the party for whatever reason. The party is for all Indians not for an exclusive few.What is going on among

Indians in the country should also be a wake up call for them that all is not well with them. If they do change, the future is going to be very bleak in a country that has abundance. There is a need to for the Indians to change their mindset; from being dependent on government handouts to becoming self-reliant in all fields. They should be energetic and quick to grasp the opportunities available to them.

In a global world only the best will survive and in this competition for survival there is no place for complacency, laziness and ignorance. They must acquire the latest knowledge and skills in order to best equipped for the global challenge whose boundaries are infinite.

The Indian community must wake up from their slumber to face the hard realities of life especially in a multi-racial and multi-religious country like Malaysia. Regardless of their religion, casts and clan, they must unite not only to defend their rights but to improve their socio-economic status as well.

Unless they strive to rise up socially and economically, they cannot expect to gain the respect of others. To earn the respect of others they need to change to restore their dignity that is fast eluding them and that change must come from within them not forced on to them from the outside.

Dr.Chris Anthony