MIC boss: PM got the formula wrong

As the date for the MIC elections drew closer, party president S Samy Vellu looked fatigued. His trademark air of confidence was replaced by a sense of gloom.

The pressure was mounting and calls for change were growing louder. The 73-year-old politician must have felt that the walls were closing in fast on his three-decade-long grip on the party.

His nemesis S Subramaniam appeared poised for a victory in the contest for number two and this was a possibility that Samy Vellu wanted to prevent at any cost.

Compounding his woes, even the prime minister had suggested during his opening speech at the MIC AGM that the time had come to replace the old order. A day earlier the Umno-owned Utusan Malaysia daily's headline screamed 'Samy must go'.

Determined to drive home a point, Samy Vellu was said to have even sought divine intervention by invoking the armies of Hanuman (monkey god) to help him fight this crucial battle.

While critics claim that MIC and its president were no longer relevant, the majority of the party's delegates however sent a strong message that Samy Vellu was still an indispensable force as far as they were concerned.

Heeding his call to vote in the presidential line-up, the delegates saw to it that Samy Vellu's men made an almost clean sweep at the polls amid cries of foul play and money politics.

Umno and the prime minister too must accept the outcome but speculations were rife that a new party was in the making and would be helmed by Subramaniam, who lost by a thin majority to the president's choice and incumbent G Palanivel.

Coaxing an angry wife

Regardless of what the future might hold, Samy Vellu was obviously re-energized by his team's victory and once again roared from the rostrum.

In his closing speech, the MIC president touched on Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's statement that one must be popular in the community and not only in his party.

With a sprinkle of sarcasm, he suggested that the premier got the formula wrong.

"You must be a leader first then only can you be popular. Then you spread your popularity to the people," he said, adding that MIC had played its role in working for the community.

He also stressed that it would take time for the party to recover from their poor showing in last year's general election.

The jubilant politician pledged that his new team would work hard to assure that Indian votes return to the ruling coalition.

Samy Vellu, who is known for his oddball anecdotes, explained that the task was similar to coaxing an angry wife who had returned to her father's house after a domestic tiff.

"It would take time for us to regain the support. If your wife returns to your father-in-law's house, she would not immediately come back when you call her.

"You would have to buy ornaments for her, speak to your in-laws and gradually she would return," he said.

Samy Vellu said Palanivel's first task after being re-elected would be to spearhead the MIC campaign for the upcoming Bagan Pinang by-election in Negeri Sembilan to rope in the votes.

"We would go from house to house to regain Indian votes. It would also be an opportunity to see who works harder for the party," he added.

Subramaniam gets a lashing

The president also set aside a few minutes to take several swipes at Subramaniam.

Among others, he said: "For 25 years (as his deputy), Subramaniam could not work with me while Palanivel in three years (since he was elected in 2006) could."

The president also dismissed Tamil daily Makkal Osai - which is linked to his adversary - as being a "rubbish" publication that churned out unfounded allegations.

Despite observers arguing to the contrary and statistics pointing in that direction, Samy Vellu however did not believe that the Indian community had totally deserted MIC.

"Did the Indians really leave us? 600,000 are MIC members, 400,000 are outside. The rest are children," he said.

However, the president steered clear of his verbal war between him and his one-time mentor Dr Mahathir Mohamad.