Malaysia's Indians suffer weak Congress

By P. Ramasamy

SINGAPORE: The annual general assemblies of political parties constituted within the ethnic coalition of Barisan Nasional give the appearance of mere public relations exercises.

The 55th general assembly of the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), held recently in Johor Baru, gave all indications that the party was more interested in projecting a formal image rather than utilizing the gathering to make fresh demands on the government.

It is rather strange that though the MIC holds its general assembly every year, no attempt is made to review the progress made on past demands on the government.

The impression given is that the MIC is not really serious in addressing the problems of Indians.

Invariably every year, fresh demands are introduced so that the party leadership can take up these with the government. Despite the impressive nature of the gatherings, these general assemblies serve basically to legitimize the party in the formal sense.

Beyond this, there is no healthy discussion of issues. At the recent general assembly, when one delegate rose to question the procedures adopted by the party in appointments to certain party posts, he was booed down.

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was visibly upset by this innocuous question and even threatened to quit the party.

There is hardly any democracy in the party, even though it boasts of increasing professional membership. The role of the president is supreme and none dares to question him on the grounds that it would be fatal politically.

Nothing happens in the party without the approval or knowledge of the president. It is not efficiency or hard work that is important in the party, but loyalty to the party president. Given the nature of authoritarian politics within the MIC, there is nothing much an average Indian can expect from the general assemblies.

While resolution after resolution is often passed for the betterment of the Indian community, the average Indian within the party or outside knows very well that the position of the Indian community is not going to change much. There is a growing perception among Indians in the country that the party can do little to improve the plight of the community.

Lacking political power and leaders of good caliber, the party might provide a formal representation for the Indian community. Other than this, it cannot fight fiercely and independently for the general improvement of the Indian situation.

This is why many Indians, especially members of the working class, have turned away from the MIC to support the activities of some Indian-based non-governmental organizations.

In fact, over the last few years, some of the non- governmental organizations have taken up Indians' problems in a much more responsible and effective manner than the MIC.

Perhaps this explains why Datuk Samy Vellu told the delegates at the recent assembly that unless MIC reached out to the grassroots, there was a likelihood of the non-governmental organizations supplanting the MIC one day.

What is constraining the MIC is not so much the internal problems of the party itself, but its relationship with United Malays National Organization (UMNO) within the BN coalition.

In fact, it is the inability or the refusal of UMNO to consider the demands of Indians seriously that has hindered the activities of the MIC as the community's representative. UMNO's need to maintain Malay hegemony, among other things, has meant that economic and cultural grievances of non-Malays in general have not been accorded much priority.

Whether the MIC can address the Indian question effectively and forthrightly will depend on the macro changes taking place in the realm of politics.

The loss of Malay support for UMNO, dependence on non-Malay support, growing demands made by non-Malays and others might influence politics in such a manner where non-Malays might stand to gain in the near future.

If this is the likely trend, then the MIC might be poised for a slightly better role in relation to the community.

The writer is a professor of political science at the Universiti Kebangsaan Malaysia.

-- The Straits Times/Asia News Network