Works Minister and MIC president S Samy Vellu should have resigned as the minister long time ago not so much for the shoddy work performed by his ministry, but rather for not providing effective representation to the Indian community.

It is funny that otherwise responsible organisations have called for his resignation as though he was personally responsible for the award of contracts to companies engaged in public works. It does not take much to realise that the award of contracts and tenders actually falls within the purview of the Finance Ministry; the public works department is merely a post office for the offering of contracts.

These contracts have been awarded to bumiputera companies, mostly incompetent on the grounds of the NEP's requirement. So, I would argue that all those ministers and senior civil servants involved in the provision of contracts for public works should also tender their resignations.

It is not that parliamentary backbenchers do not know the real culprits behind shoddy public works, but for them Samy Vellu - coming from a weak ethnic party - is a natural target .

Strange enough, the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall , rather than analysing the reasons behind the failure of some public works projects, have called for the resignation of the minister. They should have gone one step ahead and called for the resignations of all ministers involved in the wastage of public funds.

It is not that Samy Vellu should be protected, but the real culprits are those who have condoned the practice of awarding of large contracts to companies on the grounds of nepotism and corruption.

The mere removal of Samy Vellu is not going to change the state of affairs in the country.