Samy Vellu’s exit suggests snap polls, says DAP man

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 1 — MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu’s planned exit in January will pave the way for snap elections next year, Ipoh Barat MP M. Kulasegaran claimed today.
Yesterday, Samy Vellu, who has helmed the MIC for more than 30 years, finally announced that he would pass the baton to his deputy Senator Datuk G. Palanivel in January, ahead of the expiry of his term in May 2012.
“With Datuk Samy Vellu’s planned exit in January, a major obstacle has been removed and it is likely that snap polls will be held in March next year,” said Kulasegaran  in a statement.
“There has been speculation that the prime minister may dissolve Parliament next year, but to proceed with his plan, he has to first ensure that Samy Vellu, who has been regarded as a liability to BN, must step down as MIC president,” he added.
Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak is reportedly weighing whether to call for a general election within the next six months so that he may secure a fresh mandate to press forward with political and economic reforms.
A stronger economy has fuelled speculation that he might call for snap polls by the first half of 2011 although an Economist Intelligence Unit report early this month dismissed such talk, saying the results of recent by-elections suggest that the electorate has become much more volatile, especially the non-Malay voters.
Samy Vellu’s detractors have long demanded his exit, saying that the longest-serving MIC president’s reluctance to vacate his post had been dragging the party down.
The MIC suffered a record loss of six out of nine parliamentary seats and 12 out of 19 state seats it contested in Election 2008.
The MIC president sacked four party leaders — V. Mugilan, G. Kumar Aamaan, V. Subramaniam and K.P. Samy — in May this year after they spoke out against him when he announced then that he would only step down in September 2011.
After their sackings, the four leaders went on to form the Gerakan Anti-Samy Vellu (GAS) movement in the hope of pressuring Samy Vellu into early retirement.
“It is no exaggeration to say that due to his unwillingness to retire honourably following his and MIC’s electoral defeats in the 2008 general election Samy Vellu, who has long overstayed his welcome, has suffered public humiliation unprecedented in BN’s (Barisan Nasional) history, with several BN leaders openly calling him to retire from politics and labelling him a liability to the coalition,” said Kulasegaran.
The DAP national vice-chairman pointed out that former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad was among those who had derided Samy Vellu as a liability, calling for him to step down after his defeat in Election 2008.
“Mahathir said that Samy Vellu should relinquish his post for his party’s failure in the 2008 general election where Samy Vellu was also defeated in his parliamentary stronghold of Sungai Siput,” said Kulasegaran.
He quoted Dr Mahathir as saying: “Samy’s performance is worse than Pak Lah’s (Abdullah), but he still does not want to give up his post. He should have resigned before things got to this stage.”
Samy Vellu lost the Sungai Siput seat that he had held since 1974 in the historic Election 2008 which saw BN lose its customary two-thirds majority.
Top MIC leaders like deputy president Palanivel and three vice-presidents (Datuk S. Sothinathan, Datuk S. Veerasingam and Tan Sri Dr K.S. Nijhar) were also defeated in their parliamentary constituencies.
The Ipoh Barat MP pointed out that Samy Vellu could have stepped down after Election 2008 to save himself from political humiliation, citing Gerakan founder Tun Dr Lim Chong Eu who retired from politics after suffering defeat in the 1990 general election.
“He could have done so honourably immediately after the 2008 general election and saved himself and MIC all the public political humiliation,” said Kulasegaran.
Samy Vellu, 74, came to the party’s helm in 1979 after Tan Sri V. Manickavasagam died and has held the position for 11 consecutive terms.
He was the works minister and the longest-serving minister in the Cabinet until he lost his parliamentary seat in the 2008 general election.

Mariah Carey Swings Into Singapore

Looking to be in the highest of spirits, a smiling her made the trip to Singapore - as she touched down at Changi Airport in the early hours of Saturday morning (September 25).
The 40-year-old singer continues to leave fans wondering whether or not she's pregnant while covering her tummy with a bouquet of flowers after being greeted by more than 100 fans.

According to an onlooker, "One fan managed to give her the flowers, which she held in front of her as she was escorted out of the airport by a group of burly security men."
Having made the trip from Los Angeles, Mariah was ushered to an awaiting limo while heading off to an exclusive five-star resort ahead of her performance at a Formula 1 event on Sunday, September 26th.

A Teresa Giudice Reality Show: Coming Soon?

Would you watch a spin-off reality show featuring Teresa Giudice? Bravo is reportedly mulling over such a move.
"If they can give Bethenny her own show you can bet that they will give Teresa one," an  insider tells PopEater. "You can't come up with a better script than Teresa's life. She's a mother and wife going through financial troubles and having to start all over again. Everyone has been hit hard by this economy and watching Teresa and her family struggle through problems will make for great TV."
More like nauseating TV. The Giudices have been hit hard, not the economy.

Sadly, Teresa is one of the most popular Housewives in history. Magazines with her photo on the cover have sold more issues than those featuring anyone else in the franchise.

Said a TV executive when asked about a show anchored by Giudice:

"Bravo is sitting on gold with Teresa. No one could have predicted which wife would take off and which wouldn't. However, I think we can all agree that Teresa is now the biggest star the franchise has ever created. It makes perfect sense that they are discussing giving her her own show. They would be stupid not to be talking about it."

The biggest star the franchise has ever created?!? 

Would you watch this show?

Behind the Bryan and Jenny Masche Marriage, Split

On June 11, 2007, Bryan and Jenny Masche welcomed six children into their world, three boys and three girls. Two years later, they let cameras into their home for the reality show Raising Sextuplets.
Now, following , the couple finds itself legally separated. What the heck happened in such a relatively short period of time?

Relatives tell People the problems started when the family moved from Lake Havasu to Destin, Florida, which was the focus of the show's second season. And a cause for bickering between Bryan and Jenny.

"I have no idea why they did it," Jenny's uncle, Sergio Bustamante,  "There's more support here," while Jenny's brother adds: "I don't think they put a lot of thought into it. If they had stuck here with our family support, it would have been better."

Over a year ago, Jenny sensed problems in her marriage. She admitted to "brutal fights" with Bryan and said they often stay up into the early morning, trying to avoid going to bed angry.

"We have the ability to make or break [our children] and who they become and the security they have," she told People in April 2009. "The best thing you can give your children is showing a healthy mommy and daddy that love each other. We try really, really hard and pray a lot."

Let's all hope a separation is actually the best thing for these kids, as their parents are clearly better, and more peaceful, apart.