A wise man once said that, in politics, friends are never friends for life and enemies are never enemies for life.

The sleepy hollow of Ijok - now wide awake - bore testimony to this yesterday when two sworn enemies hugged each other, not once, but twice.

After years of mud slinging, name calling and even a macabre protest involving a coffin, MIC president S Samy Vellu and Indian Progressive Front (IPF) president MG Pandithan publicly buried the hatchet.

"It was an emotionally charged event," noted an observer who was at the function at the IPF operations centre in Taman Cahaya.

In the presence of about 1,200 people, some clad in the black-and-red IPF outfit and others wearing tops bearing the MIC logo, the veteran politicians locked themselves in an embrace.

They had come together to ensure victory for Barisan Nasional candidate K Parthiban, 38, in the by-election on Saturday. A former education officer, he will take on Parti Keadilan Rakyat (PKR) candidate Khalid Ibrahim, 61.

Though seriously ill, a frail-looking Pandithan took to the stage and said he considered Samy Vellu a dear friend. He described the public end to their acrimonious relationship as an emotional event.

On his part, Samy Vellu said his party's co-operation with IPF would continue even after the by-election.

Pandithan was previously a popular leader in MIC and commanded strong grassroots support from the Indian working class. He rose up the ranks to become vice-president.

However, his ties with Samy Vellu became strained when he backed a faction opposed to the president. In 1988, he was slapped with a show-cause letter for allegedly practising caste-oriented politics.

In June that year, Pandithan embarked on a hunger strike in front of the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur. He brought along a coffin to signify that democracy was dead in the party.

This led to his expulsion on July 16, 1988, together with 13 of his loyalists. Two years later, he formed IPF which is backed by 1,069 people in Ijok, which has an electorate of 12,272.

Opposite effect

Bernama reported that Samy Vellu and Pandithan's willingness to share the same stage augured well for a BN victory in Ijok.

Quoting observers, the news agency said the cooperation between the two former political foes paved the way to obtain the full support of Indian voters.

However, one MIC member warned that the reconciliation could prove to have the opposite effect as Indian voters might view it as another political gimmick.

"After all the squabbles and insults, the two hug each other. Indian voters might just laugh this off and become discouraged from voting for Parthiban. Will he (Samy Vellu) be hugging (his former deputy S) Subramaniam next?" asked the Ijok resident, who declined to be named.

Subramaniam (left), who had a protracted feud with Samy Vellu, lost in last year's party polls to G Palanivel, who was backed by the president.

The MIC member also said there was much discontent among supporters of former Kuala Selangor MIC chief P Thirumoorthy for the way he was treated by the president.

Thirumoorthy had crossed swords with Samy Vellu after he was overlooked as a potential candidate for Ijok. He then threatened to resign, to which the president said he was free to leave.

Despite this, Thirumoorthy, who had since relinquished his post, pledged his support for Parthiban but it was said that his supporters might vote for the opposition as a mark of protest.

In a related development, Samy Vellu addressed a small gathering in Batang Berjuntai organised by the Malaysian Indian Muslim Congress. He told them to vote for Parthiban because he is "young, good looking and energetic".

He also promised to return to the constituency twice a month to ensure that all the election promises are kept.