Poor Indian leadership in Bagan Pinang

Sometimes you wonder why a smart bloke like Najib would choose Isa Samad as the candidate for the Bagan Pinang by-election?

Sure, Isa is a good mate of his, bloke is a local warlord, Isa’s men would sabotage the by-election outcome if another candidate were to be chosen, blah blah blah ...

... but surely he could and should have a more strategic assessment of the consequences of putting a tainted Isa as the BN’s candidate.

His erstwhile mentor Dr M had provided good advice but Najib has either decided to have his mate back in mainstream UMNO politics or he succumbed to the power brokers in UMNO or he was so hard-up for a tactical victory (in the wake of several by-election losses) that he went for what he thought would be a ‘safe’ choice.

You know what I have been thinking of who would have been the best BN candidate?

Can you guys recall the Ijok by-election just prior to the 2008 general election?

BN then had the guts to uphold the BN tradition (despite the BN f*-ups in other multiracial aspects) by putting up an Indian candidate in a Malay majority electorate against a PKR Malay opponent. I had a lot of respect for that BN move ...

... but alas, nowadays the only daring thing UMNO would venture to do seems to more about stomping and spitting on a decapitated cow's head.

And if you read The Malaysian Insider’s Umno still faces an angry Indian electorate Isa isn’t exactly the best bloke to win the majority of the 20% electoral Indian votes because of BN's total neglect of the community, not just in recent times but particularly when he was MB.

Vasantha Kumar, a former Hindraf leader (note ‘former’) accused Isa Samad as the BN leader presiding over the worst neglect of the Bagan Pinang Indians in his 24-year tenure as MB.

Vasantha stated: “It is such an irony that the man who is to be largely blamed for the neglect of the Indian community in Bagan Pinang has returned to become the candidate.”

Vasantha urges the Indian voters to vote for PAS/Pakatan.

But alas, the Indians are divided. We have Thanenthiran and his new Najib-embraced party, one with a hijacked name, working their asses out for Isa. Maybe there’s a Datukship sometime in the future for Thanenthiran?

Then party-less T Murugiah is into bodek-ish high-gear, threatening to have the police arrest those who raise the cow-head issue during the election campaign.

While I can understand Thanenthiran’s and Murugiah's shameless sycophantic selfish ‘motivation’ I can’t Uthayakumar’s – bloke is urging Indian voters to boycott the by-election to signal their anger at their neglect.

Is that the best way to voice one’s grievance?

I am beginning to firm up on what I have been suspecting about Uthayakumar for quite a while, because his current political campaign (yes, calls for boycotting the by-election is also a campaign) in Bagan Pinang seems to be at great odds to the one he adopted for Kg Buah Pala - I don’t see much of ‘boycotting’ calls by Uthayakumar then. In fact he was most active and noisy (actually vitriolic).

It’ll be a great shame if the Indian voters heed such a negative approach, and lose at least a say in a democratic process – and in Bagan Pinang it's a fairly significant 'say', their sole chance of ever being heard.

Any boycott will only benefit UMNO!

Aren't 52 years enough? Why must Indians once again be screwed into muted marfulat marginalisation by poor leadership ... and if that were to happen they can thank Uthayakumar.

I urge the Indians, Malays and Chinese in Bagan Pinang to vote for change.