Some of you might recall that back in November 2008, VKK Teagarajan had come forth to offer himself as a candidate for the deputy president post in the MIC. Touting himself as ‘new blood’ for the party seemed to be his claim for energising and renewing the party’s badly tattered reputation and for becoming deputy president.
In a related vein, Samy Vellu has been talking up his party’s candidate,
Quite frankly, for your sake, I hope you all can see through how pathetic these claims of ‘new blood’ and ‘a worthy choice’ are. I find it hard to believe that most people would be unable to reason that such word plays are nothing more than disguises for ‘business as usual.’ If Samy Vellu’s MIC track record is anything to go by, I suppose we have a very good idea what kind of development the residents of Bukit Selambau will be in for. And I think we can also be sure what we have in the MIC’s candidate for this by-election is anything but ‘new blood.’ Certainly if the voters are looking for new blood that can arguably do no worse than the candidate from a failed entity like the MIC, and certainly is destined to easily outperform the MIC, then look no further than the PKR’s
Besides, notice that Samy regards his MIC man, S, Ganesan, as ‘a worthy choice.’ What a choice of words. Now if you were looking to shower your candidate with praise and prop him up, let me ask you, is this the best you can do? The fact is, there are plenty of worthy choices which can be had. Being ‘a worthy choice’ does not, by a long shot, make one the best of all options available. Indeed, as we all must surely know by now, having ‘a worthy choice’ from the MIC is about as meaningful and effective as giving a drunk more toddy in order to sober him up. Such credentials frankly are a non-starter, considering how beholden the party is to the dictates of its political patrons.
The party’s ineffectiveness and impotence in advancing the cause of its constituents has been transparent for all to see. For example, what else can account for the pathetically castrated response from the MIC following the apparent torture of B Prabakar.
Further, after the death of Kugan – which was classified as murder - while in police custody, S. Subramaniam of the MIC is quoted to have said, “The capabilities of the interrogation and investigation personnel in the police force should be enhanced to ensure that they be accountable and be professional in the conduct of the investigations at all times.”
It really doesn’t take much to see the obvious, and it takes only a little more than not much to see the not so obvious about Samy's MIC. It takes a good deal of incompetence to promote not development, but un-development of a community in forty years. It’s hard to imagine why Indians who can appreciate the un-development of the community that has occurred under the auspices of the MIC should or would continue to support such a failed entity. Those in the party who claim to be ‘new blood’ are the furthest thing from it. Those who are described as ‘a worthy choice’ are simply recycled characters that, like much of the rest of the MIC inner circle, have nothing new to offer. No fresh ideas, no vision, and frankly, almost contemptuous of the average person’s plight.
And to make matters worse, we know that the party’s impotence is directly linked to its political bondage to its master. Can the MIC’s ‘worthy choice’ then really have much to offer? Can this ‘worthy choice’ really walk to the beat of a drum different from Samy's and his masters? Let’s beware and ask, ‘a worthy choice’ for whom? ‘A worthy choice’ but is it not going to become just another one to tow the line of the impotent party? And what good is that for real change and reform?
What exactly then is ‘a worthy choice’ of the MIC worth to us the public? After all, this is a so-called ‘worthy choice’ of the MIC. That itself should be enough to worry the voter.
Do you think more toddy for a drunk is a good remedy?
[Ahh… the true ‘new blood,’ S. Manikumar of PKR, for Bukit Selambau sounds so refreshing… just like this nice cup of tea I’m sipping.]
G. Krishnan
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