Thursday, December 18, 2008

Samy ‘Dushum Dushum’ Vellu’s Latest Escapades

What lah, Samy… What is going on? This MIC ‘re-branding’ thing is not going too well is it? These must be really tough times for you, no? I’m sure you must be truly missing the ‘good old days’ when things were going a lot more ‘smoothly.’

Looks like these days even your cronies who attend your gatherings don’t seem too keen on listening to you anymore! I’m sure it’s nothing to do with the drivel you espouse. I mean you must be one of the best orators not just among what your UMNO masters would call we the ‘orang asing’ of Malaysia, you must surely be one of the most prolific orators of all Malaysia, what! And yet you can’t get an attentive audience? Very troubling….

So what happened, Samy? Did it hurt your feelings? Felt a bit upset that the audience couldn’t be bothered with your self-serving gobble-de-gook drivel? Apparently you aborted your speech at this recent gathering of MIC people of the Kapar and Klang MIC branches at the Klang Executive Club?

Not just once, but you had to abort your speech twice? Aiyo yo, Samy!! This is not good. Actually, it must have been very humiliating and embarrassing, no? By the way, did this not happen at least once before as well? I seem to recall there was also the time some months ago you tried to launch the MIC ‘re-branding’ campaign at a dinner function, right? There the attendees started to leave ‘your party’ well before the main festivities even got underway! Well, I remember reading at least they ate their dinner first! Looks like this kind of episode has become a trend with you.

I wonder how it was at this latest gathering in Klang? Perhaps your strategy this time was to prevent them from eating and leaving before they heard you speak? I understand you started your speech during the dinner! Good move, man. Even though now they had to be present during your speech – well, that’s if they wanted to eat dinner - looks like they still couldn’t be bothered to listen to you, eh? Terrible, lah. Very terrible, I say. Even after you tried a second time to deliver the speech these MIC branch people couldn’t be bothered, ah? Wow, how embarrassing it must have been for you.

Looks like this time again it was very difficult to keep the attendees in line, no? Maybe you needed more ‘body guards’ there, lah. You know, like the time at the ‘re-branding’ launch when you had the hotel security to cordon-off the exits when your ‘guests’ started to leave after having eaten dinner.

Even there they seemed not interested in hearing you speak! What is going on, Samy? You think maybe the public has caught on to you? Quite possible you know! If you ask me, Samy, I think this situation is getting very bleak, lah. The old days were something else. I’ve heard stories that there was good old fashion gangsterism and thuggery and things got done. You know what I mean?

Now a days you have to even rely on gimmicks like the ‘MIC communication team’ to get your propaganda message out. Seems so unlike the way the MIC and you have gone about ‘taking care of business,’ no? By the way, I read the article your ‘communication team’ did, which was posted on Malaysiakini.

Truth be told, Samy, it was badly done, lar. Not only was it poorly written, it was not convincing at all. Quite pathetic, I would say. What is it; you have some cheaply employed impressionable patsies doing your propaganda campaign on this ‘communication team’?

Anyway, speaking of ‘the good old days’ of gangsterism, what is this about a reporter and cameraman filing a police report against you? My, oh, my! Sounds like you and your ‘body guards’ may have done some naughty things to them! Apparently you verbally abused a photographer from the Makkal Osai newspaper? Even worst, you allegedly seized the camera from the cameraman! Chee, chee, chee… . That was not a nice thing to have done, don’t you agree? And I understand even one of your MIC senators was apparently an accomplice in this naughty (illegal?) deed?

Now, Samy, as if the above is not bad enough, then I read the following words about the incident at this Klang gathering: “His bodyguard approached me and warned against reporting the matter in the newspapers. He said that if we do so, ‘you are finished.’”

Ayoo, Kadavalay!! Seriously, Samy, I thought I was reading some dialogue from a Rajinikant movie, lah! You know, all the ‘dushum, dushum’ intense mindless fighting scenes in these movies? Well, one other thought did cross my mind about this: at least I was reassured that the MIC has not lost its trademark reputation.

Considering that the Makkal Osai newspaper employees have filed a police report about the incident, perhaps our most impartial, diligent, and professional police will do due diligence and find out exactly what you and your so-called ‘body guards’ meant by ‘you are finished.’ I believe one would have to be a fool not to realise that, like in the Tamil movies, this kind of gangster-like language is very sinister and amounts to a threat to do harm. But then I’m really not an expert on Tamil movies or gangsterism, and nor do I surround myself with hoodlums, you see.

Let me tell you a few more things, Samy. It is very striking to see that while you’re busy trying to shore-up your fast deteriorating political future, which incidentally is on ‘life-support,’ by having gatherings where refreshments and catered dinner is served, truly principled and genuine Malaysian heroes such as S. Jayathas and the others of Hindraf undertake the struggle for the disenfranchised by being on a hunger strike. What a stark contrast for all to see. It is as if on the one hand we have gluttony, and on the other, sacrifice by people like S. Jayathas. Your self-indulgence gives new meaning to the quote from the author Geoffrey Chaucer, “O gluttony, it is to thee we owe our griefs!" (By the way, Samy, I don’t expect you to have heard of Chaucer; it’s the quote that is important.)

It is also noteworthy that here you were in this Klang gathering with your ‘body guards’ trying to avoid bad publicity by apparently intimidating and threatening journalists. The irony of the matter is, bad publicity is precisely what you and your cronies ended up getting. Looks like these ‘body guards’ must be your other ‘MIC communication team’ aside from the one that puts out the kind of drivel and propaganda in the press. Yes, having your ‘body guards’ send this kind of 'message’ to journalists or others might after all be your hallmark as a communicator!

But despite what Tamil movies might have taught you and your ‘communication team’ which confronted the journalist and cameraman, gangster-like tactics won’t cut it anymore. Besides, I think there’s also something unlawful about putting that kind of 'communication team’ into action.

Oh, and just one more thing. Also don’t bother putting your media ‘communication team’ to work to try and do some follow-up propaganda to help with the ‘damage control’ from this latest episode at the Klang Executive Club. I can reassure you it will be an exercise in utter futility.

There is an expression you might know, that ‘a fish rots from the head down.’ I sincerely doubt either of your ‘MIC communication teams’ – that is, either your so-called ‘body guards’ or the other propaganda jokers in MIC - or you for that matter, could possibly do anything about the fact that the head of the fish is beyond salvage.

G. Krishnan