JK: Samy, we know you have been trying hard to get the Hindraf 5 out. But we also know that you kept silent when the order for their detention under the ISA was given out. All this would not have happened if you had done your job.
Seeing DAP leaders going all out to secure the release of Teresa Kok would have struck a chord with you. Are you now feeling guilty for not doing all you could to secure the release of the Hindraf 5?
You can’t run away from the fact that the majority of Indians in the country have not had a fair chance in life, all because of your weak leadership.
There is no use shouting yourself hoarse now. No one is listening to you. If they didn’t listen when u had a position in cabinet, do you think they will listen now that you have no position and was rejected by voters?
You have missed the boat Samy, it's too late.
Rocky: Really Samy you need to face reality. The government will not do what you say or ask of them, more so after you failed to deliver the Indian vote during the last general election. You claim that Indians are returning to MIC. Really? Just look at the Permatang Pauh by-election, who did the Indians vote for? I don’t think it was BN.
It is really time for you to make way for another leader and even then the Indians may not come back to MIC. In your mind, you are the only leader who can lead and make the changes which you have not been able to do for the last 20 odd years.
Releasing the Hindarf 5 will also not win MIC any support because the Indians have woken up. They know that they are better of not having an Indian party representing them. As you can see, there are more Indian MPs after March 8 and this is possible thanks to multiracial parties like PKR and DAP.
What has MIC done for the Indians? Nothing! You have failed as a leader. MIC doesn't need rebranding, it needs an overhaul. So please leave the Hindraf 5 alone because you were nowhere when they needed help, in fact you were against them. You say MIC cares, but the question is for whom?
GV: Samy Vellu was recently quoted as saying,"Hundreds throng MIC offices daily". What does he mean by hundreds? 100, 200 or 900? As an ex-minister, he should be able to provide facts and figures.
He also said many want to return to the party. How many exactly?
Only MIC can help the Indians? Of course, because only MIC is being given the funds by the government. So, obviously the Indians will go to MIC hoping to get some help. But how many people actually end up getting the help? One out of 100? 5 out of 100?
He also admitted to not using the Internet and electronic media to reach out to the Indian community. Since when do we depend on these two methods to reach out? Doing the right things for the Indian community is itself reaching out to the community. Why was it not done prior to the March 2008 elections?
Finally, MIC does not need re-branding. MIC is not a brand to be sold. It is a representation of the Indian community in this country. It needs to re-engineer itself and become part of society, instead of being an organisation which strives to manage the Indian community.
It is time the MIC leadership takes accountability of their failure and stop acting as though the community has understood them wrongly. It is not the Indian community that failed MIC in the recent election, it is MIC that has failed the Indians. MIC leadership must understand one thing: the Indians are out of the estates.
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Here’s a very good excerpt adopted from Tzarina’s blog:
Now why is the Hindraf 5 so different? THEY WERE THERE when the poor were being trodden upon (estate workers). THEY WERE THERE when the basic rights to have a place of worship was being demolished (temples). And THEY WERE THERE when the marginalized were being chopped up (Kg. Medan). Just because they were fighting for the rights of Indians doesn’t mean that they deserve any less empathy, or which Malay or Chinese leaders are brave enough to stand for the rights of the marginalized Indians? Heck, which other Indian leader(s) had such a bold and fearless stand against those who oppress?
Don’t complain when the downtrodden had enough and tried to present their plight to the nation through a rally. And if these guys HAD NOT BEEN HERE, the rally would have happened anyway, perhaps in a more aggressive manner, maybe next year, or 5 years from now. The Indian community is an explosive keg of dynamite, brewing for decades. Indians need a unifying factor that will keep them in check, which I believe these guys genuinely are. They need a voice to channel their woes, which the government had effectively silenced. Let the HINDRAF leadership fight for the marginalized with posters of Gandhi and bouquets of roses.
The HINDRAF leaders are not terrorists. They are HUMAN RIGHT ACTIVISTS. Recognize them as they are, and not as the bogeymen of the government.
Now why is the Hindraf 5 so different? THEY WERE THERE when the poor were being trodden upon (estate workers). THEY WERE THERE when the basic rights to have a place of worship was being demolished (temples). And THEY WERE THERE when the marginalized were being chopped up (Kg. Medan). Just because they were fighting for the rights of Indians doesn’t mean that they deserve any less empathy, or which Malay or Chinese leaders are brave enough to stand for the rights of the marginalized Indians? Heck, which other Indian leader(s) had such a bold and fearless stand against those who oppress?
Don’t complain when the downtrodden had enough and tried to present their plight to the nation through a rally. And if these guys HAD NOT BEEN HERE, the rally would have happened anyway, perhaps in a more aggressive manner, maybe next year, or 5 years from now. The Indian community is an explosive keg of dynamite, brewing for decades. Indians need a unifying factor that will keep them in check, which I believe these guys genuinely are. They need a voice to channel their woes, which the government had effectively silenced. Let the HINDRAF leadership fight for the marginalized with posters of Gandhi and bouquets of roses.
The HINDRAF leaders are not terrorists. They are HUMAN RIGHT ACTIVISTS. Recognize them as they are, and not as the bogeymen of the government.
