LETTER | I expect better from Ramasamy

LETTER | Whatever respect I had for P Ramasamy, the former deputy chief minister of Penang, has gone by now.

I would expect him to be “higher and bigger” than most politicians. Certainly, he is one of the few I have never expected to resort to gutter, racial and divisive politics the moment the going is against him.

Ramasamy was well-regarded for his progressive and inclusive views. He wrote many well-articulated articles seeking to fight toxic politics and inculcate racial and religious fairness and justice.

DAP was certainly the right vehicle he chose to attain his ideals for which he had done reasonably well.

Unlike many former DAP members who fought for decades without achieving much, Ramasamy did not wait for long before winning an election and was appointed to government positions - serving for a decade.

Ramasamy was dropped during the last state election and from then on, almost everything about him has changed. I have never expected this, especially from a well-respected heavyweight.

Over the years I have learned that DAP leaders in general are slightly different. They may grumble and complain when “treated unfairly” but would generally accept party decisions and wait for an opportunity to make a comeback.

Charles Santiago grumbled a bit, but he moved on because he knew the party was the raison d'être. Ong Kian Ming and Tony Pua too had declined re-nomination to stand in the election.

I remember Gobind Singh Deo too declined ministerial appointment when the unity government was first formed by Anwar Ibrahim. Recently, Ramkarpal Singh has also voluntarily relinquished his deputy minister post for the sake of his brother and transparency.

So now back to Ramasamy. Why are you behaving so differently from other DAP leaders? You are not a minor leader.

Even if you have reasons to be angry, we expect dignity from you for this is how DAP leaders are supposed to work.

I didn’t expect you to resign and form another Indian party the moment you are out of favour. I didn’t expect you to complain that there is no Indian in the reshuffled cabinet.

Is this not the very essence of what DAP is fighting against? We want Malay, Indian and Chinese leaders in DAP to fight for all races, not just their own race.

Seriously, the antics you portrayed lately are like half-baked politicians we used to joke about - form another racial party and then perhaps, apply to join one of the coalitions.

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