Najib's Makkal Sakthi party is falling apart

MIC pounces as Najib’s Indian party falls apart

KUALA LUMPUR, Dec 4 — With the newly-formed Malaysia Makkal Sakthi Party (MMSP) divided and rival factions at each other's throats, Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s plan to win back the support of the Tamil masses from Pakatan Rakyat (PR) appears to be in peril.

Not only has MMSP failed to make an impact among the Tamil working class before and after the expansive and grand Oct 10 launch by Najib, the party is now split, with president R.S. Thanenthiran leading one faction and his deputy A. Vathemurthy leading another.

As they fight and waste precious time, the MIC, which suffered under the long and ineffectual leadership of Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, is increasingly becoming more attractive to Umno which desperately needs to reconnect with the Tamil masses because their votes can “make or break” candidates in about 60 parliamentary constituencies.

The MIC has been reforming and reasserting itself among the Indian masses by taking up numerous issues that it had once shunned for fear of offending Umno.

It has history, incumbency, resources and organisation behind it but is only being held back by the failure of Samy Vellu to quickly hand over leadership to a successor and exit the political scene.

It was largely his arrogance and failure to save Maika Holdings from near bankruptcy that saw Indian voters make up their mind to teach him and the MIC a lesson in Election 2008.

But MMSP has shown it cannot fill the vacuum that the MIC had left behind.

Many leading voices in the Indian community have privately and publicly expressed shock that a seasoned politician like Najib could have given his backing to a “bunch of novices” in MMSP.

The feeling is that none of them have the political experience, acumen and skill to manage a political party, let alone win public support.

“It is easy to start but difficult to sustain,” said a former MIC vice-president. “Politics might look easy but it is really the toughest profession in town.”

“You either have it or you don’t and the Makkal Sakthi people simply don’t have it,” said the veteran politician and former Cabinet minister.

“Even the PPP is becoming more attractive compared to the Makkal Sakthi people… provided the popular Murugiah (deputy minister Datuk T. Murugiah) is given a chance to lead PPP,” the political veteran said.

“Najib should concentrate more on easing out the ‘has-beens’ in MIC, PPP and Gerakan and let new comers take over these political parties instead of forming new ones,” said a former Gerakan leader.

“These political parties might be wounded but they are not dead… they still have life in them,” he said.

The fight in the MSSP is over sharing the money, posts and something called “due recognition” which the rebels under Vathemurthy alleged was usurped by Thanenthiran, his brother, wife, relatives and “close friends.”

Thanenthiran, however, denies the charges and alleges “outsiders” are out to overthrow him and are using his deputy to get him.

Clearly, Samy Vellu is quiet happy with the squabbles in MMSP because he sees it as a rival for the support of the Tamil working class which once had rallied behind the MIC but whose loyalties are now contested by numerous entities — from PKR to DAP and even PAS.

PR leaders like Penang Deputy Chief Minister Prof Dr P. Ramasamy and Hindraf leaders have also all openly labelled Thanenthiran a “traitor” to the Indian community by siding with Umno.

They all want a slice of the Indian votes along with Umno.

In the end the fight between Thanenthiran and Vathemurthy for control of the new party is academic because neither faction has real standing among the Tamil masses and can win them over to Barisan Nasional in substantial numbers.

MI
04/12/09