After long time..I say...MIC elections

I remember those day when I was a kid (5-10 yrs old), during election time, I used to ask my grandma & any of her frens visiting her which party would they vote for… and the answer wud b “Barisan, ayya..they r the government n we must vote them”. The idea was; changes are bad for us. the current rulers got money and better. Opposing people are considered small and unable to perform.

Bringing this into MIC elections(somehow I know how many of these veterans in MIC feel & act, as I grew up listening & observing), even they know too well the current situation & talk against the current president 24/7, but in front of the ballot box they wud remind themselves that only if they vote the president, their-self & their branch(which is true to certain extend) will survive as the president’s choice will surely win.

So there is the majority decision. But wait… majority actually voted for ‘change’… but still doesn’t help because of super tactics and powerful influence. Using less than 50% support and only 80 in difference to win the election battle does require too much experience. The result reminded me of few things: 1) Was the accusation of Samy purposely putting Sothi to split the votes true? 2) have anyone heard Palanivel’s speech anywhere? the only one I’ve heard, some nasty comments on his VIP speech in one of the business association dinner. 3) Is MIC now a certified ‘irrelevant party’?(second certification)

I sayang MIC for some reasons, looking back at the history of some meaningful leaders and meaningful mission they had ages ago, even before merdeka. Maybe dats why I’m more sad looking at wats happening now…

O yea..btw, even my grandma voted for opposition in the last G.election & i’m sure she wouldn’t mind me telling this out…. ponders…

I say...Sg.Siput

I say : It was very fun to witness the election process in one of the mainly focused area in the country. Especially by Indian Malaysians since it was the political semi-god, MIC president Dato Seri S. Samy Vellu's constituency for past 8 terms. This time around, the people seem to be more divided by political parties. Not the usual 'mostly BN people' scene. I must say that Samy has done alot for the place. SS has very good amenities. And he have also helped the community to live their life better. But the message against Samy which is nationwide worked even in own place. People don't wan him anymore. But we still have to remember that his group of supporters are still large. Only about 2000 swinged to other side. Regardless of Samy's thing, the good feeling about this election is that people showed they want changes. The concept of Makkal Shakti worked well throughout the country with big names falling everywhere & 5 states grabbed by opposition. I again would like to say that I am not anti government, but i feel that we can always taste changes to feel which is better. The choice is ours. This time it has been proven. The strong message has been sent. I am happy that Indian Malaysians actually played a vital part in this. Last election, it was 100% win by MIC candidates which contributed to the UMNO led government. But this time, very few MIC candidates stepping into parliament. Message to MIC & message to government. Good.

But i am also hoping the oppositions to deliver their best & better than the BN to all rakyat regardless of race & religion. This should be done wherever they won & also lost. National level too. These will create a healthy fight which will force each other to deliver only the best to rakyat. Logics gotta be tested. 

I would like to thank Bmahenran, Uzair, G Dhina & other friends. We helped each other doing our work in Sg. Siput. I will update video & other links regarding elections later on. Thank you.

Sungai SIput Story 3

• I just woke up & right away posting this. Let me continue the later part of the day, Vote counting.

It was raining since about 5 pm & we waited inside the Perbandaran Hall premises, where the total counting & announcement will be made. Police blocked the main road in front & quite a number of them were taking duty. Around 7 pm, I could see cars, carrying ballot boxes from all the polling stations 1 by 1. Each car had a party rep & policeman together. By this time, medias were already inside the hall. It took quite long for all the boxes to arrive. 

I was waiting outside & meanwhile, had a chat with one of MIC member (strong Samy supporter) who was the rep inside polling station to witness the counting earlier. He was very worried & told me many things. He said that no other MP can throw money like Samy Velu for the people. He said Samy helped from paying house bills up to funerals. During festivals, the amount of money flown into Sg. Siput is marvelous. Loads of people get new clothes, hampers & 'ang pau'. He also said the opposition always talks vulgar to the BN during campaign period & election day. But now, he is worried about Samy being toppled. He suddenly got a phone call from Rimba Panjang where he found out that Samy got 200+votes & Dr.Kumar gained 900+ votes. He was so sad & quickly went to the place with his motorbike after saying "They (opposition) have played".

I was getting updates from other places through sms & phone calls. My friend who was reporting from inside updated me from time to time. Initially, Dr. Kumar was leading by small margin, but as counting went on, the margin was getting bigger & confidence was growing among Dr.Kumar & his people. I managed to get inside the hall later on & found out that the counting was over, but no announcement was made. The EC head there made announcement that he has the results in his hands but cant reveal it until he gets green light from SPR Perak. Many couldn't understand this process, but all waited, including 4 candidates. Dr. Kumar was there, but no sight of Samy Vellu (I heard he went off from SS). By this time, the crowd inside came in as police allowed them. I could say that 98 % were opposition supporters. Everyone knew that Dr. Kumar won but kept hold of happy emotions until the official announcement. Dr. Kumar  & his people felt angry with the delay & few times argued with the EC head. The whole place was tensed as they delayed more than an hour. 

Meanwhile waiting, I manage to join other reporters interviewing Dr. Kumar;

• He said eventhough he stood with PKR's ticket, but he is still a PSM candidate & all matters will be like that. PSM & PKR shares many similar policies except for very few like the free trade country. When asked what will he do, he said that he will concentrate on the constituency first. As there are many problems faced by people in Sg. Siput socially & politically. He also told that its time to work with all the people including NGOs to create betterment. Malaysians have proved that they want change by giving oppositions big win throughout the country. He said by looking at this, they can start to think of taking over the government next election. He is very happy of his struggle in SS as he got about 15+% last two elections, then doubled to 30+% in last elections and this time around increased which brought him victory. He also agreed that Makkal Shakti played a big part in this victory. They have conveyed good message to rakyat.

Me : Doctor, what is your style? Discuss & decide or Decide & discuss?

Dr.Kumar : Of course Discuss & decide. Its not me who won, but we won. All of us work together at every point of time. Its people's victory. 

Me : It is said that Dato Seri Samy Velu has thrown so much of money to people in SS when he was here, from paying house bills to other things. He helps this way. Since you are new, how will you handle this culture?

Dr.Kumar : Well, the people of SS is going to have a culture shock. They won' be getting money from their MP. But they will get whatever they should get from government by better means. I will fight for that. Only corrupted MP can have that much of money & simply throw money. I will look into what has to reach people inclusive of orang asli and all. To change the mindset of people will take some time, but they will change.

We continued waiting & finally, the EC guy went on stage. He thanked all the candidates, jabatans & every person who helped to run this election smoothly. He looked tired as well. He invited all the present candidates to the stage & the announcement was made...jeng jeng...Sungai Siput Parliament winner is Dr. KUMAR, the PSM candidate; winning by about 2000 majority defeating Dato Seri Samy Vellu!!!...The crowd cheered & clapped & shouted out of joy. 3/4 state seats won by opposition and 1 won by BN. The crowd even cheered for the BN candidate ( I liked this).

Finally, they had a photo session & Dr. Kumar was escorted to a Toyota Corolla SE (1991 model). Never seen any MP in such a normal car before.

Whole crowd went to PSM bilik gerakan near Jalong. I was there too. The celebration was great with 'Urumi Maelam'(Indian cultural drums) playing & fireworks released into air. Dr. Kumar went to stage and many presented him with 'Maalai'(flower garland) and bouquets. He then spoke with hailer. He said we have finally won. It is a victory of all & he thanked everyone who supported him from every aspect. He told everyone to celebrate quietly & never provoke other parties or create any sort of problem because since there is big win of oppositions in country, havocs are expected. And if this happens, there would be curfew & hold of parliament. This will mean nothing to their victory. So he urged everyone to go celebrate happily but quietly. Go back home & watch TV to update themselves about other areas' election results. The crowd cheered and agreed to him. He also said that he is not only an Indian leader but a leader for all races as Malaysian. A chinese guy spoke then & said its a wonderful win for us. He spoke few words in chinese dialect to the chinese present there. Dr.Kumar spoke again and this time, the crowd shouted "Makkal Shakti Valga". Dr. Kumar mentioned Makkal Shakti and said that he will speak to Makkal Shakti leaders and see what can be done for betterment of people. The crowd dislembed & Dr. Kumar went into the Bilik Gerakan PSM. The stage which was used to give ceramah is nothing but an old wodden lorry body. For me, this was very meaningful icon. Somethings are not seen useful until we use it. The day has come to an end with a new history, Samy Vellu lost at Sungai Siput after 8 terms. Dr. Kumar has won after 3rd time contesting. The land has new fertilizer to its soil. Everyone hopes for good crops to grow... 

DR.KUMAR TOTALLY DEFEATED SAMY VELU!!!...story from SS continues..

• I just came back from Sungai Siput (3.00am).I wrote updates there & there at SS, hoping that could update in the blog. But I was in no move to any CC nor any wi-fi connection at the place. So, pardon me for that. But I think its not too late to feel the SS breeze yet...I'l post what I wrote & continue the story...

At 3.58 pm I was again at S.M.K Methodist. But this time heard crowd voicing "Makkal Shakti Valga" (Live People's Power). And together with this there was slight argument between the opposition supporters & BN supporters. I understood that just before that, a opposition worker (girl) was sprayed with water by one of the BN worker. This leaded to the argument which fetched more people to the scene, all supporting either team. It looked like the BN guys talking & shouting in order to create problem, where the Makkal Shakti (MS) team tried to talk normally, but kept chanting "Makkal Shakti Valga". Voters were still walking in & the campaigning became heavy, by the MS group. Else where, the BN just shouted from far to the voters that vote for MS & its good to destroy the whole community. The girls of MS too were delivering their best. There was this one guy from BN who came in the middle in order to settle the minor arguments, but end up talking rudely to MS & also to his own guys which almost provoked a fight to happen. Traffic got bad & traffic police was doing their duty. Vehicles, including lorries which passed by the road honked to show support to the teams. Each time, the crowd cheered with the vehicles which had their party flags. BN claimed that they didn't have to campaign then. They were over-confident that people's vote will be for BN. MS was persuading all the people, including senior citizens who came, despite their difficulty to be physically active. The words of MS to all were "Ubah demi Maruah"(Change for dignity),"They broke our temples", "Think of our children's future",ext ext. Without realizing, the crowd augmented into nearly more than 200 people, inclusive both sides almost equal. BN's was having new people to talk and they were claiming that the MS guys were outsiders, but themselves are locals who cares more about SS. At 4.20 pm, a jeep with FRU unit, consists about 6 men, arrived and they took place between the supporters who were blocking the entrance. Could realize that both the groups actually created distubance in the place & looked like few voters turned backed without entering the polling station, fearing the crowd's presence there. This was very uncomfortable. The FRUs were standing between them quietly & this helped. But there were few people making noise within the groups provoking to fight. The situation was okay, then the station was closed & the crowd disembled. Next is vote counting!..... 

I will post the exciting vote counting sessions & other matters later...I seriously gotta sleep now...Good night...errr...& good morning too...tata

Go to Malaysiakini.com for good nationwide news. Watch videos in Malaysiakini.tv too. Watch RTM (TV) for official results of all constituencies.

Indians 'are now politically awakened'

Its a nice article by B Mahendran in Malaysiakini. View here.

Ambience in Sungai Siput

Friends, I'm writing this from Sungai Siput. The election process is going fine in all the polling stations here. The supporters of Barisan Nasional & Parti Sosialis Malaysia(standing on PKR's ticket) are seem to persuade anyone who walks into the polling station right at the entrance.But I didn't sense the presence of the independant candidate's supporters, or maybe they are in different places. I was at S.M.K Methodist, where BN candidate Dato' Seri S.Samy Vellu voted earlier in the morning & could see guys with orange 'Makkal Shakti' t-shirts telling the sorrows of the HINDRAF detainees & others, in order to pull votes from the multi-racial crowd. Voters also seem to perform their duty without any rush or difficulty. The only factor was the hot sun earlier, but now the cloud is most likely calling the rain. I am waiting for the counting to begin at 5pm. I'l update then. Photos will be updated later too. Updates on various places can be obtained from Malaysiakini.com Any updates from other places, please e-mail me. Thank you. Happy Voting! :-)

'MIC failed the community'

A former MIC man and once close associate of party president S Samy Vellu said that the Indian community must realise that the party has failed to elevate their socio-economic status"What is the party’s results after more than 60 years of existence? What has it done with such a success that everyone is so proud of," asked the former division leader from Kepong.He said the main problem with the party is Samy Vellu, who has been at the helm since 1979.

"He wants to do everything on his own. He alone can’t solve the problems of the Indians in this country," said the 47-year-old architect who used to be employed in Samy Vellu’s management consultancy firm in 1989."And the other thing is that there is no vision and proper implementation in whatever he wants to achieve for the community."He has not trained his team of leaders to do anything, thus it’s only all that he says and it ends there," he added.

"Firstly Hindraf is not the reason for the the anger in the community. It merely triggered what was already simmering"What took him and the party so long to identify these issues?" asked Muguntha who is also the president of the Selangor Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry."Did they have to wait for Hindraf to act?" And even when they outlined the issues, they have not come out with a proper blueprint in achieving anything positive," he added.

"I have personal knowledge of the party not being interested in solving the financial problems of the small traders in Selangor in early 2000. It did not come to their aid when they were suffering from the clutches of the illegal money lenders, neither did it do anything to get them micro-credit loans," he added.He also said Samy Vellu had the tendency to surround himself with people who do not question him. As a result, he said it was these ‘yes men’ who were promoted into party positions and many capable educated persons being sidelined.

"Who said the country would collapse if we vote in the opposition? Don’t believe in all that spin."Look at India. See how often the ruling party changes but the country has not gone backwards. In fact it is seeing rapid development," he added.Likewise, he said Malaysia too would be able to continue with its growth if it was ruled by the opposition."Think wisely and vote for people with vision," he added.

I say : Hmmm..i guess we kinda knew this earlier. But at least should give some concern now. True, think...

Source : www.malaysiakini.com

Mahathir: Samy stifled Indian voices

The problems plaguing the Indian community could be resolved by removing MIC president S Samy Vellu who stifled Indian voices, said former prime minister Dr Mahathir Mohamad yesterday"I know their main grouse is not with me, their main grouse is with Samy Vellu because with him there, another Indian has been deprived of the chance to come up," he said"So they want to blame me? It is not that. Samy Vellu did not ask for assistance. The problem is that he is preventing other Indians from having a say".

"It is up to him to decide (to step down). A lot of people will say "if you step down, we will step down" and they will cry and all that. But when I step down, nobody stepped down," he mused."He talks, but these things were not the issues that he raised - like the recovery of money for the Indian community who were brought here by force and all that.

"He never mentioned that, I’ve never heard him. He never said that the Malays were committing genocide and ethnic cleansing. He never said that. Why didn’t he say that?" he asked.

Asked to comment on the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), the former PM said their demands were unreasonable.

"Quite a lot of their demands were quite unreasonable - practically denying the position of the Malays as the indigenous race on this country. You know this is something very sensitive to the Malays."If the government tell the Malays ‘sorry you’ve got the same status is the Indians’ I think there will be a big drop of support for the government from the Malays," Mahathir added.

I say: What!? Oh I see.....

Source: www.malaysiakini.com

Read more on interview with Dr. Mahathir here

What is this politics all about?...I even dream about it nowadays!

Since young,i mean very very young, I have been hearing my family, friends & any other people talking politics everywhere right from home to coffee shops to functions. They discussed so much that left me confused with what is this politics all about. But those 'talks' has definitely made me realize that politics is everywhere. I define politics as 'leading a management'. Thus, politics (management) is everywhere, be it in a family, neighborhood, community, school, country, ext ext. But when politics are mentioned, our focus is on the country, the leaders & politicians. And I must say that it is an art which is to be performed by several & spectated by many. No art is easy to perform and no art is difficult to see.  Being a Malaysian Indian (MI), the community's concern within was always on the 'Malaysian Indian' politics which I have never seen a change since then. Oops, i shoudn't say that anymore, because I have only seen MIC haven't changed, but many Indians have indulged themselves in 'out-of-MIC' politics & proved themselves to be leaders as well. But I must say that the 'out-of-MIC' politics are been seen and talked about only very recently (by majority). Obviously, after Nov 25th 2007 HINDRAF rally in KL. But we should remind ourselves that HINDRAF was & is not a political movement. But through the demands and requests put front by them, the message is clear that support of MI should be not for the ruling government ally. Thus, the view has increased upon opposition parties. 

No one, including me, could tell exactly that what HINDRAF has done is properly correct or otherwise. But I prefer to look at the efforts, intentions & messages which are definitely meant for the betterment of the community & the country itself. I'm happy that those messages are very much pro-Malaysia and not being unfair to any other race & religion.

When at all anyone mentioned to me that politics are dirty, I always replied saying, "If it is so, then who would clean it if not for you & me?". I still keep to that stand. Now that the revolution (of a particular community & whole nation) has taken space, let us water the seeds by any small amount that we could, at any level.

Describing things as such, I am not anti government either. I have always been comfort

able with this government as I got whatever I needed (sadly, not all of my friends from the neighborhood & estates though) since young. But I am sadden with the democracy system which malfunction in our country. The constitution which is not respected at proper height and no modifications in several matters that are needed for the best of the whole nation. I am unhappy with these things. Many are. I honestly, would love to see this government ruling with qualities I mentioned above rectified. Now that we have developed this far, can you imagine what kind of power we would have had if the stuffs were correct. Yes, we have examples surrounding us, don't we? I love my country,man.

Its a norm during polling season that everyone seems to be talking whatever at all they 

see, hear or read. Well, that is a sign of thinking community, but I suggest for all of us to evaluate what we see, hear or read (I'm being neutral here). Definitely it is not the first hand info as someone would have told someone before reaching us. Yet, there are very transparent news available for us by certain people & agents. So, let us get our thinking machine run and make the 'thinking community' a 'properly thinking community'.

As a Malaysian Indian, I think our community is at peak of thinking, evaluating & deciding position. Let us do it wisely. I am not telling "Vote for this! Vote for that!", but asking us to think think & think before delivering any decision. Remember, our smallest drop will definitely bring a strong message this time to whom so ever that going to rule the country; That we are here in this country & very much part of it's democracy. Let there be changes or not, we definitely want changes on our position as fellow rakyat.

These are the few things running in my head (and many others) which I thought of sharing. I love this country & my rakyat.

Now, I write....

MIC seats are shaken in this GE

In Kedah, MIC is contesting the Bukit Selambau and Lunas state seats, which have a substantially high number of Indian voters - 29.5 percent (or about 9,000 voters) in Bukit Selambau and 22.5 percent (about 6,600 voters) in Lunas. In 2004, the margin of victory was 7,695 in Bukit Selambau and 4,299 in Lunas, but it will be difficult for the MIC to repeat its success this time around. It may find solace in the fact that it is facing an Independent in Bukit Selambau, and thus may well pull through by moving into high gear over the final days of campaigning. In Penang, Indian sentiments are against the MIC, which is also wracked by internal bickering. But the deciding factor could be that its candidates are facing fellow Indians in the Bagan Dalam and Prai state seats, thereby giving the voters in the community a real choice in the communal stakes. Both seats also have a high number of Indian voters - 22.3 percent (about 3,900 voters: 2004 majority 1,967) in Bagan Dalam and a whopping 35.8 percent (5,050 voters: 2004 majority 583) in Prai.                              Prai looks dead set to be gone, especially when the DAP candidate P Ramasamy has been well-received by voters. There is a local Independent candidate to contend with as well. MIC is also struggling to convince voters in Batu Caves and Seri Andalas, in Selangor, to retain its candidates as state representatives. In Batu Caves, MIC’s T Mohan is a new face with ample grassroots work behind him. However his candidacy is not welcomed by the local MIC divisions as he is an outsider. More importantly, it is an open secret that Malay voters were not happy with the incumbent who was dropped. The PKR’s Malay candidate and another Malay Independent will hope to take advantage of this. Mohan, though, expects to pull through.  In Seri Andalas, incumbent A Kamala Ganapathy faces PKR strongman A Xavier Jeyakumar in a straight fight. There are about 12,800 Indian voters (33 percent), all affected by the Hindraf factor.  If Jeyakumar can capitalise on their sentiments, he is assured of their votes but he must be mindful that he is up against an incumbent who had the support of other races as well in 2004. This will be a close fight but the MIC should win it. A surprise result is being predicted in Sungkai in Perak where MIC vice-president S Veerasingam takes on DAP’s A Sivanesan, a Hindraf lawyer.  However, Veerasingam is a known face with a good track record. He is expected to win, but Sivanesan could take most of the 3,000-odd Indian votes. Big shots who could fall Five of the parliamentary seats that MIC is contesting look like they are in the bag.  These are Hulu Selangor (deputy president G Palanivel), Tapah (new face M Saravanan), Cameron Highlands, (incumbent SK Devamany), Segamat (secretary-general and incumbent Dr S Subramaniam) and Subang (newcomer S Murugesan). Kapar looks most vulnerable at the moment where incumbent P Komala Devi, who heads the MIC women’s wing, faces a straight fight with PKR’s S Manikavasagam. Once again the Hindraf factor will have to be watched. Manikavasagam is a Hindraf coordinator and became the face of the movement after the arrest of key leaders under the ISA last December.  Indians make up about 15,000 of the 112,224 voters in Kapar. Manikavasagam’s camp is quietly confident of winning enough popular support to breach the 14,588-vote majority which Komala obtained in 2004. Komala’s walkabouts in the constituency have been disastrous in the Indian areas, whereas voters have embraced Manikavasagam as one of their own. If this trend continues, Komala looks set to lose her seat. Similarly in Kota Raja, incumbent SA Vigneswaran, the MIC Youth chief, is coming up against voters who want answers for the community’s plight. He takes on Dr Siti Mariah Mahmud of PAS in a straight fight. She has had greater success among Indian voters, many of whom have openly professed support. Vigneswaran, who won with an emphatic majority of 8,239 in 2004, is expected to win, albeit with a reduced majority. MIC vice-president S Sothinathan may also be looking at defeat in Teluk Kemang, not only because of Hindraf, but because of increasing anger among Malay voters.There are some 24,000 Malay voters (40.6 percent) and 13,300 Indian voters (22.2 percent).  PKR strongman Kamarul Baharin Abbas will hope to capitalise on the situation, while an Independent could well split the votes. It will be a close call, but Sothinathan had a massive 17,777 majority in 2004 and, with sufficient support from Umno, he should retain his seat. Battle for Sungai Siput Samy Vellu has held the seat since 1974, but his ability to command the Indian vote has never been so low as at present. He attracts unwanted attention everywhere he goes. He has been mobbed by angry crowds in Selangor, Penang, Kedah and Perak over the past three weeks.  But is this likely to unseat him in Sungai Siput? His challenger Dr D Jeyakumar has been edging closer with every election and has built up grassroots support, especially among the Indians. If Indians desert him, however, Samy Vellu will count on the votes of other races - and not for the first time either. In 2004, he readily conceded their role and expressed gratitude to them for the majority of 10,235 votes. There are 18,816 Chinese voters, 16,991 Malay voters and about 10,000 Indian voters in Sungai Siput. The battle is raging to capture their hearts and votes. Samy Vellu may well emerge victor, but bloodied and with his reputation in tatters.

I say: MIC has been a path of support of Indians to a UMNO led government all this while. Never been changes. Let us see what some changes will bring.

Source : www.malaysiakini.com 

Malaysiakini.com goes free for a week..enjoy!

Malaysiakini.com, a leading news website of the country announces that it's news can be viewed for free by any visitors for a week."We hope that voters will be able to access independent news so that they can make an informed decision on polling day," said Malaysiakini CEO Premesh Chandran in announcing the decision. Rest of the information can be read here. However, the free period will end on 10th march 2008.

I say : I feel this is a great chance for all those people who didn't subscribe to Malaysiakini but wanting to learn much transparent news right in front of your screen...enjoy!

A day at Sg.SIput

On 2nd March 2008, Sunday, the Joint Action Group for Gender Equality (JAG) held their leaflet distribution & press conference (PC) at Pasar Jalong, Sg.Siput, Perak. This group which consists of organizations such as Women Centre for Change, Women’s Aid Organization, Sisters in Islam, All Women’s Action Society & Pusat Janadaya(Empower) was also joined by Women Candidacy Initiative (WCI) members. The main objectives of these events are to educate the public on Sexist Members of Parliament (MPs), whom have uttered sexist remarks openly in the parliament sessions. This group has also prepared a list, in their leaflets, of MPs & their sexist remarks. They have invited all the 3 Sg.Siput candidates to their PC but only Dr. Kumar Devaraj, the PSM candidate attended. At the same time, the MIC candidate (that has been winning for past 8 terms) in Sg.Siput, none other than the president himself Dato’ Seri S. Samy Vellu also held his own PC at Pusat Konvensyen Sg.Siput (its a nice hall). Three members of WCI who learnt about this PC rushed to the venue. As they entered the main gate, the press members quickly began to surround them as their hand-made posters & placards attracted. This caused the anger of the MIC members & supporters who was waiting for the party leader. They harshly shouted at the 3 ladies asking them to get out of the place. But they stood bravely. Meera Samanther argued that they are only there to meet the MP & they have all the rights to do that. The supporter even broke their placards, but the women never seemed to move a little. Meera took this opportunity to speak to the press & told whatever she had too. She urged the press to release this news so that people would know how women activists are treated by certain people whom are supposed to be leaders of the community. After about 10 minutes, Samy Vellu arrived. Meera tried to speak to him saying, “Dato Seri, we are here to ask you few questions” and Samy Vellu’s reply in rised & harsh voice was “I’m not here to talk to you, you go and do your business!” and walked straight into the hall’s VIP waiting room where his PC was held closed door, only with press members. The ladies accepted his unwillingness to speak to them & walked out of the hall premise. View the video here. Meanwhile, at the JAG’s PC at Pasar Jalong, Dr. Kumar was showing his support towards this group. When was asked whether the Sg.Siput people are aware of the sexist MPs, Dr. Kumar said, "If they were aware, then they (BN) wouldn't have won 8 times". He added by saying JAG will have to do more to make rakyat realize such behavior by certain MPs. He also said he would do his part in similar. The JAG representative said the MPs were making parliament a joke venue, "This effort (educating public) starts here but will continue everywhere, other NGOs are helping to distribute the brochures too",she said. When asked regarding main issue with women in Sg.Siput, Dr. Kumar said it was single mothers. "There is no proper childcare centers & the mothers get paid as low as RM 18 per day. Ministers only talk but these people are always ignored", he said. He also said there are certain religious sukarelawan group already started the effort to help these mothers & he will support them."We need to give care at first, before talking about democracy & other matters", he added. This JAG is apolitical & they stand on nobody's side. Their intention is solely to educate the public on their agenda & help rakyat to think for making a good choice on polling day.

I say : There are many parties with goodwill trying to help the rakyat especially during this election period. We could feel the positivity in their intention to really educate the rakyat.

I am also sad of the way supporters and/or members of a matured & ruling government party behaved in such rude & 

shameful manner towards a group of women activists. I salute the women for knowing their rights & stood to fight!