It seems that some MIC leaders want to write a thesis to extol the virtues and contributions of the party. My question to them is simply this - is the thesis going to touch on some of the major alleged historic betrayals of the party?

What the MIC has done or not done to address the tragic plight of Tamils in Malaysia or elsewhere is not a topic for debate any more. It could have been a hot topic of debate a few decades or so ago. However, the passage of time and the alleged colossal failure of the party to address Tamil issues have rendered such a topic meaningless.

It serves no purpose, other than to waste valuable time, for the MIC Youth chief C Sivarraajh to say that the MIC has done much for Tamils on matters like raising funds for the war victims and those affected by the civil war in Sri Lanka.

MIC might have raised some funds, but what else did the party do to address the political, social and cultural issues of Tamils in Sri Lanka. Being under the alleged total control of Umnno, the party has miserably failed to take up issues of not only Tamils in Sri Lanka, but in Malaysia as well.

Sivarraajh suggested that readers should find out more about MIC activities by going through Google. Yes, Googling can provide some indications of the efforts of the party, but at the same time there are tonnes of material that might show how the party has allegedly betrayed and marginalised the Tamil community in Malaysia, let alone speak about Tamils elsewhere.

Sorry, there is no need to ‘educate’ the Malaysian Tamil public about the MIC. What the MIC has done for the community in the last few decades and how it allegedly abandoned the poor and marginalised community is public knowledge. Sometimes it is pointless to revisit the history of the party and how it has allegedly become ‘enslaved’ by the forces unleashed by Umno.

Anybody can write a Master’s or doctoral thesis about any topic. I have written a magnum opus on the plight of the plantation workers in Malaysia and how Indian-based unions and political parties allegedly abandoned the plantation workers.

Those in glass houses should not boast about writing theses to extol the virtues of their political parties. On this matter, there is nothing for the MIC leaders to ‘celebrate’ the virtues of the party, nor are there data for them to rely on.

However, there are abundant data that might indicate how the party is allegedly composed of self-seeking leaders who allegedly hijacked major economic projects that were meant for the advancement of the Tamil community.

Maika Holdings shares meant for the community were allegedly hijacked a few decades ago by three companies that had nothing to with the welfare and well-being of the community. Many examples can be given as to how the party allegedly abandoned the poor Tamil community to enrich the lives of a few leaders and their families.

It is not my intention to ridicule the MIC or its leaders. Much has been said about the party and its debacle in Malaysia politics.

What irks me is that despite all the negativity about the party, yet there are some leaders who visited Sri Lanka, totally oblivious to the suffering of the Tamils there, to glorify the efforts of the allegedly racist Sri Lankan government that has caused untold sufferings to Tamils.

I just have a simple message to MIC leaders: if you cannot help the Tamils, then please do not humiliate or betray them.

P RAMASAMY is Deputy Chief Minister II of Penang and the state assemblyperson for Perai.