Every move by the MIC is now being watched closely and there have been reports of the party seeking the advice of former PM Datuk Seri Najib Razak as to whether to stay or leave the BN.

The party is overwhelmed with fears and worries about its future and the reactions as well as political fallout among Indians and others.

The MIC leadership has to resolve whether it needs to evolve or dissolve at this crucial juncture of the party’s existence.

Over the decades the party gradually began to lose support of the Indian community, and the Hindraf rally, which gave vent to the pent-up fury and frustrations of the community, was the final straw that broke its spine.

Parallel to the gradual losing of support was the rural-urban migration of Indians from the 1990s onwards who were not constrained by the rural life in the plantations.

It was a generational change and the MIC was not prepared for the consequences of this massive urban paradigm shift, and it rapidly began losing support.

MIC leader Tun Samy Vellu’s loss in the 2008 GE said it all, and it became a rudderless party made worse by shocking changes at the national level when the BN lost in 2018.

The MIC lost both significance and relevance in a rapidly transforming political landscape.

However, not everything is lost for this 70-year-old party. Visionary leaders able to adapt and evolve to overcome the present difficulties can kickstart a new future for the party.

The old system of branches and divisional leaders has to go as they serve to divide the community further apart from historical rifts and splits like the caste, religious, ethnic and linguistic groupings.

Coupled with this, the MIC leadership needs to consider its future with BN, or PN, or better still be part of a Third Force.

The MIC has good but difficult choices to make. In my opinion, unless Datuk Seri Najib Razak is released on house arrest and takes up an important role as “adviser” to Umno, the MIC cannot expect anything big from Umno or the Unity Government.

Presently, Umno leaders are themselves in a precarious position and unable to help their disabled sibling, the MIC.

The MCA, too, is in the same boat.

Indians have not given up total hope on the MIC, and in the party’s present predicament many feel sympathetic rather than angry at this one time “arrogant” party that claimed to be the sole representative of all Indians in the country.

PM Anwar is less willing to support the MIC or MCA as he feels it will lead to loss of support of Indian and Chinese members in the PKR and DAP.

The Unity Government practices a fake multiracialism, and the government will try to maintain the status quo without rocking the boat.

As such, the MIC cannot hope much now or in the future in the present scheme of things.

With the PN it may be slightly better as the MIC can lay out its conditions for cooperation at the outset for the next election, which will be very crucial for the Indians.

Many in the PN are friendly and supportive of the Indian community, and this may translate into a fairer share for Indians.

However, there is no guarantee that these Malay-centric parties will be any better than PH or PMX unless there is a legally binding agreement for them to practice multiracial policies benefitting all Malaysians in exchange for electoral support to form the government.

With Indians fully supportive of the Third Force, this group will gain traction and win the confidence of other communities who also want to end discrimination, corruption, and abuse of power.

Another way the MIC can regain its relevance and support is to be part of the Third Force. I will tentatively call it Wawasan 3 or Third Vision.

All Indian political parties, NGOs and other groups should unite as part of a multiracial Third Force.

All Peninsular and East Malaysians who feel that the country needs to be competently and equitably managed should support this group in the next general election.

This core group should comprise many of the vocal and outstanding proponents for a better Malaysia such as Siti Kassim, Ambiga Sreenivasan, Zaid Malik, Michael Jeyakumar, S. Arutchelvam, A. Sivarajan (PSM), Lateefa Koya, Prof. P. Ramasamy, Awtar Singh, Syed Saddiq, P. Waytha Moorthy, N. Surendran, Arun Doraisamy and many others.

This Third Force could be the decider in a hung parliament. Even though it may not win enough seats to form the government, it can nevertheless do reasonably well in the multiracial and urban constituencies in West Coast states, mainly Selangor, Penang and Kuala Lumpur.

The mood of the people has drastically changed, considering the present socioeconomic despair and difficulties, especially in the urban constituencies, and the Third Force should take advantage of this electoral opening.

The millions of Indian and Chinese voters as well as urban Malays, who were hoodwinked on the promises of reforms and who previously voted for the PH, can be deciders in swing constituencies, and with the big names from the Third Force there is much expectation for major electoral changes in GE16.

It will no more be the choosing of the lesser of the two evils, but standing up against the devils of disunity, divisions and discrimination in the country.

It is still not the swan song yet for the MIC, which needs to rebrand itself and be envisioned and empowered to harness the new changes and challenges unfolding in the country with a transformative leadership which has learnt well from past mistakes, disappointments and defeats.

What is urgently needed now is for the MIC or leaders like Prof P. Ramasamy and others to bring all Indian representatives together in a meeting or conference that will lay the foundation for a Third Force.

It must be done urgently to ensure that it gains momentum and influence before the next election, which is about two years away.

Indians need to be reminded that they are still in a powerful, not pitiable, position in the country!

Indians will have to take the lead. With Indians fully supportive of the Third Force, this group will gain traction and win the confidence of other communities who also want a realistic and genuine 1Malaysia to end the discrimination, corruption, abuse of power and other negative values that have become deeply entrenched in the administration of the country.

The days of fake multiracialism and discrimination must end with GE16.

(V. Thomas has been regularly contributing to Malaysian newspapers for the last 40 years.)