I T is disheartening to see leaders who are supposed to lead the Indian community, waging war against one another. The latest is Datuk Seri G. Palanivel and Datuk Seri Dr S. Subramaniam claiming to be at the helm of the MIC.
It is an irony that these leaders and cabinet ministers, with such differences between them, were leading the Indian party as the president and deputy president until the Registrar of Societies (RoS) found discrepancies in the last party polls and ordered fresh elections. It was challenged in court, where the RoS order was upheld.
Instead of negotiating for fresh elections, both Palanivel and Subramaniam have been suspending or sacking each other and their supporters in the central working committee, visibly and vehemently splitting the party into two.
This weakens the MIC, already ailing from the last general elections when it performed poorly.
It is a fact that MIC has failed to bring into its fold all Indians in the country, as there are also other Indian political parties with sizeable members.
The need of the hour is unity in the party. These leaders, who are vying to lead the party to bring benefits to the Indian community (especially the Tamils) are having differences and promoting factions in the party, to the detriment of unity and progress of the society it represents. The grassroots are already disgusted and disgruntled with these sad developments.
MIC was started by John Thivy and a few veteran Indian leaders for a noble cause. If the RoS recommends dissolving the party, it would be a disgrace to the Indian community.
Already, many disappointed members of the community have joined other Indian political parties. Some are also in the opposition DAP and PKR. If the MIC disintegrates further in this manner, more would prefer to join these parties.
Dr G. Johnson, Bandar Baru Permas Jaya, Johor