Samy’s MIC on collision course with BN

MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu basked in the glow of victory today, looking on appreciatively as one delegate after another attacked the government and former Prime Minister Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad for interfering in MIC matters.

The delegates at the MIC general assembly singled out for criticisms Mahathir and other leaders for condemning Samy Vellu and praising his rival Datuk S. Subramaniam, in the run up to yesterday’s election.

A day earlier, Samy Vellu-backed candidates all but swept the board, taking the lion’s share of posts contested, and cemented his grip on the party, despite some pressure from Umno and the public for some change in MIC.

Mahathir was criticised severely for doing nothing for the Indian community while the Umno/Barisan Nasional (BN) government was attacked for favouring only the Malays and ignoring the woes of the Indians for many years.

The depth of the criticism, sometimes tedious, was best illustrated after one delegate from Johore stood up and said: “They can see the woes of the Palestinians and the Bosnians but they can’t see our suffering right here before their eyes.”

“For them to tell us who to pick as our leaders is an insult,” he said.

While they attacked the “government” and Tun Mahathir, they held back on criticizing Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak, who had them on their feet yesterday in a stirring speech urging them to reform to win back Indian support.

He issued a warning, seen as being directed at Samy Vellu, that being popular in the party was useless if the people you claim to represent hate you.

But Samy Vellu appeared to shrug off the advice, seeing it as interference in MIC affairs.

He has also allowed delegates to speak up against a government, of which he was minister for nearly 30 years, and in which his party is still represented by a minister and two deputy ministers.

“The die is cast…he is on a collision course with the government…Umno,” said a newly elected MIC leader on the sidelines of the MIC general assembly today.

“We are either in Barisan or out. We cannot be in the tent and attack our own,” he said, adding that in his desire to continue as MIC president, Samy Vellu, was now on a collision course with the federal government.

“It is the classic disease of individuals in power for one too many years,” said the MIC leader. “He believes without him the MIC would collapse and without him he Indian community would suffer.”

“The community that the MIC had represented has long fled to the opposition and the party is just a shell of what it once was but the Samy Vellu party and same script goes on,” he said.

The Najib administration is going the extra-mile to woo the Indian community, aware that the government had alienated them and that the level of frustration is deep.

But it needs a vehicle to take forward the transformation, and was hoping the MIC could reform, elect a new leadership and be the harbinger of a “new deal” for the Indians.

With Samy Vellu still around, there is little choice for Umno/BN but to support other stakeholders in the community and gradually start making a direct approach to Indian voters.





Baradhan Kuppusamy

Najib’s Batu Caves visit may spell the end for Samy Vellu

The most notable absentee when Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak made his symbolic pitch to the Indian community at Batu Caves on Sunday, Aug 11 was MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.

It was the first time since last year's general elections that Samy Vellu was missing at a hugely symbolic Indian event graced by the prime minister.

His absence appears to indicate a distancing in ties between the Najib administration and the traditional MIC leadership dominated by Samy Vellu.

Several days before Sunday's event, word was already out that the MIC president would not be attending the event.

While his detractors said he was not invited, his supporters said he was busy because the Batu Caves event clashed with the Perak MIC convention.

But critics point out that the Perak MIC meeting was a small affair compared to the hugely significant Batu Caves meet that was attended by the prime minister, and could have been easily postponed.

“The new Najib administration is keeping some distance from him,” said a political analyst of Indian affairs, who declined to be named because of the sensitivities involved.

“Najib wants to show that he cares for the Indians but does not want to be dragged down by Samy Vellu’s unpopularity among grassroots Indians,” the analyst said, adding that the Indian leaders attending the function with Najib were “mostly not MIC-type people.”

“His absence was very noticeable but not regretted,” he said.

Except for deputy Federal Territories minister Datuk M. Saravanan, most of the top MIC leaders were with Samy Vellu in Perak.

Samy Vellu has long sought to control the Indian community by dominating the management of the caves complex.

He has always given the opening speech on the first day of the Thaipusam celebration, the only event in the country that brings together nearly a million Hindu annually.

The one time Hindus rejected his presence was in the aftermath of Hindraf’s 2007 protest when hundreds of thousands devotees kept away in a show of defiance and rejection of Samy Vellu.

Current chairman Nadarajah was seen as his man in the management committee but in recent months he is “striking out” on his own.

Sunday’s event was organised independent of the MIC and Samy Vellu, sources said.

Nearly 6,000 Indians and others welcomed Najib to Batu Caves, a hugely symbolic gesture that received front page coverage in all three Tamil dailies, including Samy Vellu’s Tamil Nesan daily.

All the newspapers played up a photograph of Najib with a huge neck-to-toe garland of white flowers with red stripes, with Nadarajah dominating the prime spot beside the prime minister instead of Samy Vellu.

Najib also offered aid for promising Indian entrepreneurs, cash for Tamil schools and support for Hindu temples.

The more neutral Malaysian Nanban daily printed their story under a huge banner heading that said, People Overwhelm Prime Minister along with numerous photographs of the event.

This is the first time in memory Samy Vellu was glaringly missing from the big stage and that is something the community will notice quickly.





By Baradan Kuppusamy

Khir Toyo enters MIC fray, attacks Samy Vellu

KUALA LUMPUR, Aug 12 – Former Selangor Mentri Besar Datuk Seri Dr Mohd Khir Toyo has waded into the battle raging in the MIC between the Samy Vellu-Subramaniam factions by accusing the MIC president of giving the green light to demolish the Padang Jawa Sri Maha Mariammam temple that had sparked widespread anger and led to the 2007 Hindraf protests.

In an exclusive interview with the Makkal Osai Tamil daily that is the mouthpiece of former deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam, Khir, now opposition leader in Selangor, said Samy Vellu telephoned him “one night about 11pm” during the crisis and told him to pull down the temple.

“He (Samy Vellu) said Hindraf people were gathering at the temple and turning it into a protest,” Khir told the newspaper. “He said to pull down the temple to stop them and not to give them room.

“Because the leader of the community is asking, I instructed the state secretary to give the necessary instruction,” Khir said in the interview.

The demolition took place a few days before Deepavali in 2007 and angered the Indian community.

The razing of the temple is a key reason why Indian voters rebelled and voted the opposition in the March 8, 2008 tsunami that brought the Pakatan Rakyat into power in five states.

The MIC was accused of doing nothing to stop this and other demolitions, and paid a heavy price in the polls, losing most of the seats it contested, including in Sungei Siput where Samy Vellu was defeated.

The Padang Jawa demolition was the climax of several years of unremitting temple demolition by local authorities in Perak, Johor, Negri Sembilan and Selangor, all on the grounds that these temples were illegal structures.

Khir also said he will “take action” if Vel Paari, the son of Samy Vellu, continues to claim or write that it was Khir who had demolished the temple.

“I did not do it… it was Samy Vellu who wanted it,” Khir Toyo told the newspaper.

Khir’s rebuttal is part of a war of words between Vel Paari and supporters of Subramaniam, with each faction using the Tamil newspaper under their control to throw accusations at each other to influence the 1,400 delegates to the Sept 12 MIC elections.

On Aug 6 Paari had written in the family-owned Tamil Nesan daily that Indians were angry with Samy Vellu over the demolition of the temple. He said his father was not involved and the people should be angry with Khir as it was he who was responsible for the demolition.

The MIC election is seen as a do-or-die battle by many and is generating unusual heat compared to previous elections.

This is because two camps — that of Samy Vellu and Subramaniam — are going head-on by fielding their respective candidates for all the posts up for grabs.

“With Samy Vellu departing there is unusual urgency and heat in this election because the party is at a crossroads. The veteran leader is departing and two rival teams are fighting to fill the vacuum," a former MIC vice-president said.

“That’s why it is a do-or-die battle with the winner taking all and the loser disappearing from the scene,” the MIC leader said.

Samy Vellu, who was elected unopposed in March for an 11th term as president, has indicated he would quit about a year after the Sept 12 election, if at all.

Subramaniam is fighting the final battle of his career as deputy president in a three way fight between him, incumbent Datuk G. Palanivel and former Samy Vellu-blue-eyed boy Datuk S. Sothinathan.

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By Baradan Kuppusamy

Maika Holdings shareholders just want their money back

Yet another protest against Maika Holdings by opposition politicians and shareholders has come and gone with the usual angry confrontation, condemnations, police barricades and submission of memorandum.

By now it is a familiar routine for most shareholders and their numbers have been dwindling over the years. Many are old and infirmed, others have died and some are frustrated by the endless infighting and keep away.

Maika was their ticket to a better life but for all intents and purposes it is now an eyesore.

There is a strong case here for the government to intervene and end the controversy, shareholders said, by doing a due diligence, ascertain the company’s NTA, try to salvage what is salvageable and pay shareholders, if possible, ringgit for ringgit.

“Just return the RM3, 500 I had invested and I would be happy,” said shareholder S. Kalaisundaram, 68.

“We all know it is over for Maika… we know it is dead. But just return the money,” he said at yesterday’s protest. “I have no work, no pension, no children to support me and the money is important.”

“Prime Minister Najib (Razak) should step in and end this controversy once and for all,” he said, expressing the general feeling of Maika shareholders.

Opposition politicians have for years rode on the community’s anger over the failure of Maika Holdings to win support but without offering a solution.

Yesterday’s protest was no different from previous demonstrations since the late 1980s when it was already known that Maika as a business venture had failed.

The protest was in part a tit-for-tat reply by the Pakatan Rakyat to the MIC’s protest against the DAP-led Pakatan Rakyat Penang state government over the Kampung Buah Pala issue.

When the PR protestors, nearly all Indian except for Selangor exco member Ronnie Liu, demanded to know why shareholders have not been repaid, MIC supporters from inside the fenced-off headquarters unfurled banners to question why the DAP had “betrayed” the Kampung Buah Pala villagers.

Both sides had anticipated each other and had came prepared with appropriate slogans and banners.

While they traded insults shareholders like Ramaiah, 78, from Perak, could only watch with frustration from the sidelines.

“They told me this time we could get our money back but we have to show our protest,” Ramaiah said, a retired factory hand who invested RM1, 000.

“It is the same each time… we shout until sore and we go back until the next protest,” he said, urging the government to step in. "All these people are at each other’s throats... what solution can they offer?"

As the confrontation continued outside, Maika Holdings CEO Vel Paari was giving a press conference on the 4th floor office of Maika Holdings, watched on one side by the skeleton staff of the company and on the other, his MIC supporters.

Paari was squarely blaming former MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam for all of Maika’s woes.

Incidentally his father Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu was holding another press conference (after a meeting of the MIC central working committee) on the 1st floor attacking Penang Chief Minister Lim Guan Eng for "betraying" the Indians.

Prodded by the press, Paari gave depressing financial figures that showed the sorry state of Maika.

Its debts had ballooned from about RM19 million in the late 1990s to RM63 million as of today because of non-payment of interest, default charges and penalties.

Some of the loans were taken using Oriental Capital Assurance Berhad (OCAB) shares as collateral and one bank, Paari said, has issued a notice for foreclosure.

He agreed there was a danger Maika would lose OCAB if the loans are not settled.

“If Subramaniam had not got the injunction to stop the sale of OCAB in 2006 we would have by now sold OCAB and paid off all the Maika shareholders. I blame Subramaniam for the current mess,” Paari said.

“I had a firm offer of RM1.75 per share and it is all gone now,” he said.

Subramaniam’s Nesa Co-operative had obtained an injunction, still in force, to stop the sale because a higher price could be obtained and to keep OCAB in “Indian hands”.

As part of his campaign to get his team elected in the Sept 12 MIC elections, Samy Vellu is also using the “injunction issue” to attack Subramaniam who has tried to explain the “real” reasons why he went for an injunction.

Paari said “as matters stand now” (financially) Maika is unable to pay shareholders ringgit for ringgit.

Outside the MIC headquarters only a shaky fence separated the two groups that traded insults, unfurled banners and pushed and shoved each other.

Some of the most degrading insults in Tamil were exchanged by the two groups as riot police watched in exasperation.

At the end of the two-hour long confrontation a two page memorandum was handed to Paari, the CEO of Maika Holdings since 1999.

By 1999 Maika Holdings was in shambles, most of its business ventures had failed and it was weighted down by huge loans with only one jewel left – OCAB.

OCAB, Maika shareholders say, survived the rot because it was professionally managed and under the eagle eye of Bank Negara.

The confrontation yesterday was not about the shell of Maika Holdings but it was really about what to do with the profitable OCAB.

But with OCAB’s shares under mortgage and banks beginning to foreclose and with the Indian community wracked by massive infighting and unable to agree on anything much, shareholders are in danger of losing the insurance arm.

“Our only hope now is for the government to intervene,” said shareholder Kalaisundaram.

By Baradan Kuppusamy

For MIC, a no-holds-barred campaign for party’s future

An open, bitter and desperate battle has erupted between supporters of MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu and his arch rival Datuk S. Subramaniam, who is contesting the deputy presidency in the Sept 12 party elections against Samy Vellu's nominee, incumbent deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel.

The war is being fought between supporters of Samy Vellu led by his son Vel Paari and supporters of Subramaniam led by millionaire businessman and philanthropist Oms Thiagarajan and others in Subramaniam's camp.

The battle, which started last week, is being waged in the pages of the rival Tamil dailies — Samy Vellu’s Tamil Nesan and Subramanian’s Makkal Osai.

The circulation of both dailies has jumped dramatically and readers are having a field day enjoying the juicy revelations of one side against the other.

A lot is being revealed — secret meetings at the PJ Hilton, the death of a young woman lawyer who was a close friend of K. Sujatha, the woman romantically linked with Paari who died after drinking weedkiller.

Plots, sex, murder and mayhem — everything is being freely alleged without caution to legal suits by the rivals camps against each other.

Yesterday, Subramaniam broke his silence by saying that if the mud slinging continued he “would be forced to retaliate”.

Palanivel is keeping a stony silence

At the core of the muckraking is political desperation, MIC insiders said.

For the first time in his 30-year hold on the MIC, Samy Vellu is unsure whether the MIC election results will play out the way he has written it.

“His grip on the party has weakened after March 8, after he lost Sungei Siput and after he lost the Works Ministry he lost the golden pot,” said a former MIC vice-president. “They (Samy and his camp) are desperate… they feel they are losing control and that the election is slipping away.

“You can see their desperation in the way the MIC campaign has turned out — people who criticise Samy Vellu or go against the written script are disciplined, threatened and issued with show-cause letters of expulsion,” the MIC leader said.

“Sometimes disciplinary letters are hand delivered within 24 hours of the alleged offence,” the MIC leader said, citing the case of Kelana Jaya MIC division vice-chairman P. Subramaniam who announced he was contesting as vice-president on Thursday.

He was issued a show-cause letter for alleged tarnishing the party image for saying “we need wise men, not yes-men” in the MIC.

The newspaper war first started when Paari fired the first salvo in the Tamil Nesan on Aug 28 by accusing Subramaniam of being a liar and traitor for taking an injunction (in 2006) to stop Maika Holdings from selling its profitable insurance arm to pay off shareholders.

Paari gave a lengthy full-page explanation arguing that he had a buyer and was able to pay RM1.75 per share until Subramaniam, out of personal avarice, scuttled the whole affair.

While Subramaniam maintained a studied silence over the accusation, his people and others retaliated by saying that Maika was ruined by Samy Vellu and his son and not by Subramaniam or the Subra-controlled Nesa Cooperative that applied for the injunction, which is still in force.

In fact they saved Maika Holdings, they claim.

In another article, Paari fingered Oms Thiagarajan, alleging the Klang-based millionaire had secretly met him at the PJ Hilton and begged him to intervene with his father to "save" Subramaniam and "ditch" Palanivel.

Paari also alleged that Thiagarajan had paid the wages of about RM5,000 a month for P. Selvarani, the lawyer who before her death was working at the legal firm owned by Hindraf founder P. Uthayakumar.

Paari alleged that Thiagarajan "cried "uncontrollably on hearing Selvarani had died and in the process dragged Kapar MP S. Manikavasagam into the controversy, alleging that the PKR MP had begged him to settle "some matters" he had with the police.

Thiagarajan shot back in Subramaniam's Makkal Osai by admitting he had paid Selvarani's wages but denied other allegations like he was the man behind a campaign by Manikavasagam to discredit Paari over Sujatha’s death.

Manikavasagam also waded into the controversy by rubbishing Paari’s claim that he had begged him for help. He also lodged a police report.

Selvarani fell to her death in June 2008 from her 17th-floor apartment in Bukit OUG. She was only 29 and was due the next week to take up a posting with the UN.

Police classified the case as sudden death but in his articles Paari speculated whether somebody could have pushed her down.

The upshot of the week-long muckraking, MIC insiders said, is the fact that Samy Vellu’s campaign is not going as smoothly this time as before.

Samy Vellu has put up his line-up called the “president’s team” and is touring the country to drum up support. Numerous candidates left out are entering the field to oppose his team, including his blue-eyed boy Datuk S. Sothinathan who is contesting for deputy president.

“The rank-and-file mood is ugly against the president’s team,” MIC insiders said, adding various different strands in the MIC have come together to support Subramaniam’s candidature and his upcoming line-up.

The mudslinging, they said, is to be seen in this context.

Thiagarajan was openly using his money, influence and nationwide network to drum up support for Subramaniam, party insiders said, adding this was the reason why he was attacked by Paari in the Tamil Nesan.

“He is a credible person because he financially supports numerous charities, Tamil schools and Tamil organisations,” said Klang businessman and MIC branch chairman K.P. Samy.

“I think his campaign for Subra was effective and that’s why they picked on him… they want to damage his credibility,” Samy told The Malaysian Insider.

The heated campaign and muckraking have just started and are set to get worst ahead of nomination on Aug 22.

Both sides are planning a huge gathering of their respective supporters on that day to show their clout.

By Baradan Kuppusamy

Chitrakala says she is scared of Samy Vellu

P. Chitrakala Vasu, the woman at the centre of a row with Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu over missing MIED files and funds, has given the public a rare inside look into the dealings of the MIC president.
At a press conference today, she offered up a glimpse into how her former boss thinks, works and manages the millions that the government has allocated over the years to the MIC to alleviate Indian poverty.
But before opening the window into the world of Samy Vellu and his inner circle, Chitrakala said: “I am very scared of this man.
"He has got money, people. I am an ordinary person, I am very scared. He has got everybody with him; I don’t have anybody with me. But I thought going public is my best protection.”
She was once so close to Samy Vellu that she became the subject of gossip, suggesting she was having an affair with him.
“It is all lies but I was that close to him,” Chitrakala told the press conference at the crowded Lotus restaurant in Jalan Gasing, Petaling Jaya.
She said Samy Vellu was now going after her and trying to pin on her all sorts of allegations of financial improprieties connected with MIED, the MIC arm that operates the AIMST University and other colleges.
“MIED is worth RM1 billion compared to Maika Holdings which is worth zero,” Chitrakala said, adding that her relationship with Samy Vellu started to sour after the March 8 general election as he became suspicious of everybody around him.
“He felt very insecure after losing in Sungei Siput and losing as minister. Not being a minister anymore and without it he was a nobody. He knew his days were numbered and he would be challenged for the president’s post. So he got very insecure and saw enemies everywhere,” she said.
One of the issues that arose was the future of MIED which, being worth RM1 billion, was the jewel in the crown of the MIC.
But Samy Vellu saw MIED as a different entity and having nothing to do with MIC or the Indian community.
According to her, he knew he could lose as MIC president but he wanted control of MIED.
“He did not want to let go of MIED. He wanted to remain as MIED chairman and chancellor of AIMST University,” said Chitrakala.
“The way to do it was simple, he wanted MIED removed from MIC,” she said. “MIED is for Indians. He wanted to divorce it from MIC. Legally it can be done but morally it is very wrong.”
“I cannot let what happened to Maika Holdings happen to MIED. I told myself that I have no strength to challenge Samy Vellu on this but my husband supported me,” he said.
One of the first acts Samy Vellu ordered, and over which Chitrakala baulked at, was an instruction to remove former MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam as a director of MIED.
“After that Samy Vellu wanted to get rid of nearly everybody, all the 35 members of MIED. He even wanted to get rid of Palani (MIC deputy president Datuk G. Palanivel). He marked a whole list of people for removal and asked me to do it.”
Chitrakala told Samy Vellu he could not do it. “I said MIED is not MIC where he can sack and put in anybody he likes at his whims and fancy. MIED is governed by company law and he can’t do as he likes.
“He got very angry with me,” she said.
Then Samy Vellu asked her to move the MIED office out of the MIC building in Jalan Rahmat here to somewhere else.
“I also disagreed but I did not say no directly. I just delayed the matter. People visit the MIC office for MIED help. We are tied together, we cannot be separated physically,” she said.
“So this is the background of why we had a falling out and finally the crunch was he tried to force me to make payments to AMIST University contracts without proper documentations,” she said.
"Samy Vellu also asked me to make advance payment to contractors."
The fight between the two even got down to little things like the wording on the plaque unveiled when AIMST was opened by the Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi last year.
The plague had the words: Malaysian Indian Congress, MIED presents AMIST University to all Malaysians.
“A few days later Samy Vellu called and ordered me to remove the words Malaysian Indian Congress. I asked why and he said MIED was not linked to MIC.”




By Baradan Kuppusamy, The Malaysian Insider

Samy Vellu in the case of the missing files and government funds

The murky financial dealings of MIC were laid bare today after a one-time loyalist implicated Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu in mismanagement of party funds and misappropriation of government money.
By Baradan Kuppusamy, The Malaysian Insider
P. Chitrakala Vasu, who is at the centre of a raging row with Samy Vellu over the MIED financial fiasco, alleged today that up to RM2 million raised for tsunami victims in 2004 was transferred from government accounts to a party foundation controlled by the MIC president.
She also alleged that lorry-loads of files were removed from the office of MIED, MIC's education arm of which she was once the chief executive.
MIED had raised millions of ringgit from the Indian community, in addition to receiving about RM300 million from government sources and a loan of RM220 million from Bank Pembangunan Malaysia, which is outstanding, for the construction of the AIMST university in Kedah.
Today, Chitrakala made public two reports she made earlier in the morning in Shah Alam urging police to probe the whereabouts of the MIED files and also RM2 million in donations collected in 2004 for tsunami victims in Sri Lanka.
In her report, she claimed the RM2 million was deposited from the Works Ministry into the account of the Yayasan Pemulihan Social (YPS) of which Samy Vellu is chairman and Chitrakala the CEO. Samy Vellu was then the works minister.
“Some time in February 2008 (just before the March 8 election) Samy Vellu telephoned me and informed me that the Works Ministry Treasury would transfer RM2 million into the YPS account and asked me to place the money in fixed deposit,” she said in the report.
“He told me this money was for the people of Sri Lanka but since it was not used he was transferring to YSS for later use,” she said.
"The money was put in a CIMB fixed deposit account and was still there when I left on Jan 2, 2009,” she said in the report, adding that she was making the report to prevent Samy Vellu from using the money for any other “unauthorised purpose”.
She also fears she might be blamed if the money when “missing”.
In the second report, she urged police to investigate “missing” MIED files and gave details of a heated confrontation she had with Samy Vellu in his office on Dec 31, 2008 in the presence of MIC vice-presidents Datuk S. Veerasingham and Datuk S. Sothinathan.
“A heated argument broke out after Samy Vellu made baseless accusations and I told him I will see him in court but he replied court is not the place,” she said in the second report.
In the report, she said Samy Vellu allegedly told her that he would "make sure the police arrest and embarrass you”.
“Soon thereafter I was slammed with five show-cause letters and more followed after this,” she said.
“After I left on Jan 1 without even taking my personal belongings I learned lorries were used to remove files from the MIED office and taken to an undisclosed location on orders of Samy Vellu,” she said in the report.
At the press conference, Chitrakala said the police must investigate how so many files had gone missing and why she is being blamed for it.
“What secrets these files hide?” she asked.
“This is only the first part… there is more coming,” a defiant Chitrakala told a press conference at a restaurant here today.
“I was followed, photographed, harassed and threatened in the days leading to this press conference,” said a visibly angry Chitrakala, 38, who is married with four children.
Even major newspapers considered close to Samy Vellu were not invited to the event for fear the news would be leaked and she could be waylaid or the press conference somehow scuttled.
“He pushed me to the wall, he asked for this (revelations). I worked hard for him and protected him for 14 years but in the end he came after me and pushed me to the wall,” Chitrakala told The Malaysian Insider before the press conference.
“I am not afraid of him… I know the truth behind him,” she said, adding all the accusations Samy Vellu had made against her over the missing MIED files and for involvement in corrupt deals were false and designed to shatter her.
“He has to answer not me,” Chitrakala said, breaking down in tears at how she and her family now feared for their lives.
“He is powerful, he is big… we are nothing. But we have the truth, the people behind us. That’s why I am going public. The people have a right to know,” she said.





By Baradan Kuppusamy, The Malaysian Insider

Malaysian Indian Minority and Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2008 - HINDRAF

Malaysian Indian Minority and Human Rights Violations Annual Report 2008
Dedicated to, the three British trained and one Malaysia trained, Indian Malaysian lawyers imprisoned without trial indefinitely at Malaysia’s own “Guantanamo Bay” under the Malaysian draconian Internal Security Act (ISA) for championing the Indian Minority and Human Rights cause.



Executive Summary


Introduction

Overseas Indians worldwide have been granted equal opportunities and leading prosperous life except in Malaysia. This is because the Malaysian government practices and implements very serious institutional Malay Muslim religious extremist and supremacist plans, policies and practices to the extend of reducing and segregating many Indians into literally becoming slaves. Even the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) President and immediate past Cabinet Minister of 29 years standing, Dato’ Seri S. Samy Vellu has conceded as late as March 2008 that the Indians in Seberang Kuari (Penang) are living in worst conditions than in Africa. The Indians in Malaysia are openly discriminated not by the Malay Muslim people of Malaysia but the UMNO (United Malay National Organization) controlled government of Malaysia in direct contravention of Article 8 of the Federal Constitution which prohibits discrimination and upholds equality. In short the Indians are excluded from the national mainstream development of Malaysia in almost every aspect of live on a day to day basis.

But Malaysia’s UMNO controlled government has successfully over the last 51 years since independence camouflaged this reality very well by projecting, highlighting and showcasing the cream of the Malaysian Indian as being successful and prosperous. But this cream only represents a mere 1% of the 2 million Indian populations in Malaysia. About 70% of the Malaysian Indians are left to rot in the hardcore poor and poor category. For raising these very serious Indian minority and human rights violations four Malaysian Indian Lawyers
(P. Uthayakumar, M. Manoharan, R. Kengatharan & V. Ganapathi Rao) have been arrested and are currently detained without trial for 2 years, from 13th Dec 2007 and continuing indefinitely thereafter at Malaysia’s very own “Guantanamo Bay” (the Kemunting Detention Centre)

Some of Malaysia’s atrocities against its own mere 8% minority Indians in 2008 are as follows:

1. Even as this paper is being finalized on the last day of the year 2008 the Malaysian Police in their Police lock up were alleged to have poured hot water on an Indian youth’s body. When he screamed in pain, a piece of cloth was stuffed into his mouth by the Police and was stepped on with their boots. On a rare occasion NT 7 (A local TV Station) splashed his gory burned marks because, a rare breed Member of Parliament for Kapar, Mr. S. Manickavasagam (present at this conference) dared to take on the UMNO State by exposing this police brutality. But in Malaysia, when the victim is an Indian, hardly anything happens. Not only for this atrocity but almost all and every atrocity as listed herein below, this continues to this day. The Indians suffer in silence. Even the Opposition Parties, NGOs and civil society almost always choose to remain silent because the victims are, “merely Indians”. The police and all the authorities have almost always never been punished even for worst atrocities than this.

2. Indian slavery, including sex and child slavery, in Malaysia is rampant even
after 51 years of independence.

3.150,000 Malaysians Indians (third, fourth and fifth generation Indians) are
made Stateless by denying them Birth Certificates.

4. Kampong Medan “Ethnic Cleansing” of Indians (2001) – 5 Indians killed and a hundred over suffered grevious bodily injuries.

5. One Hindu Temple is demolished in every week nation wide in Malaysia.

6. Six Indians were shot dead by the police in one single day.

7. One Indian lady (8 months pregnant) was shot dead in her home (1988)

8. 90% of Malaysian victims shot dead by the police are Indians.

9. 90% of the deaths in police and prison custody victims are Indians.

10. 80% of victims of police harassment, unlawful arrests, flimsy and malicious prosecutions, inmates of police lock ups and prisons are Indians, (Note: 90%
in Item No. 8, 90% in Item No. 9 and more than 80 % in Item No. 10 are
Indians despite being a mere 8 % of the total population).

11. Six Indians commit suicide in one day. The suicide rate among the Indians is
600 % higher than the Malay Muslim community largely because of denial of
equality and equal upward mobility opportunities.

12. RM 207.9 billion (USD 54 billion) budget for 2009 and RM 230 billion (USD
60 billion) budget in 2008 for the Mid Term Review of the Ninth Malaysia
Plan but zero allocation for the hard core poor and poor Indians.

13. Indians today earn as low as RM13.00 (USD 3.50) per day as plantation
Workers.

14. 60% of urban squatters and 41% of beggars are Indians.

15. 70% of the 2 million Indians are hardcore poor or poor.

16. Penang Indian squatter families cannot afford to buy milk for their babies and stopped children from attending schools because of poverty.

17. One Indian young mother could not be cremated until after 3 days because of poverty.
18. RM80 billion (USD 21 billion) government guaranteed PNB (Permodalan
Nasional Berhad) shares benefitting almost 9 million poor Malay Muslim
share holders but the almost 2 million poor Indians are excluded.

19. 99% of deserving Indian students is denied the 847,485 public university places. Indians excluded completely from the 120,000 university (UITM)
Places which have a campus in every state.

20. Only one overseas government PSD (Public Service Department)
Scholarship awarded to do medicine for the deserving 2 million Indians.

21. Remawathy, the sixth best student in Malaysia who scored 13 A1s in SPM
(O Level) was denied a government PSD scholarship.

22. Only one medical seat is made available at the University of Malaya against a 2 million Indian population in Malaysia (2004)
23. Foreign medical college Degrees from Ukraine, Russia, Romania, India and Indonesia with almost all Malaysian Indian private students suddenly were derecognized by the Malaysian government.

24. Government PTPTN study loans and scholarships denied to Indians studying medicine, law, engineering etc in overseas.

25. Even in the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC) sponsored AIMST University
and TAFE College, government PTPTN loans and scholarships are denied to the Indians.

26. Government PTPTN loans and scholarships denied to almost all the Indian
students studying at the scores of private universities and institutions of
higher education.
27. A very negligent number of Indian students offered full residential schools,
such as the MRSM junior science colleges and scores of other elite schools.

28. 371 Tamil primary schools with about 100, 000 Indian children denied full government financial assistance.

29. Almost all the above Tamil schools are all in cowshed like pre war structures.

30. Indians are even largely excluded from the KEMAS and PERMATA, government run kindergardens.

31. 99.9% of deserving Indians denied agricultural land schemes for the
hardcore poor and poor in the semi government run FELDA, FELCRA,
RISDA, FAMA, ]Agropolitan in the 13 State Government Land Schemes.

32. Indians in the civil service today have been reduced to 1% from about 50%
in 1960s.

33. 99% of the deserving Indians denied licenses, permits, government contracts
and project business loans and opportunities.

34. 99.9% of the hundreds of thousands of entrepreneurs created and to be
created by the Entrepreneur Ministry, Rural Development Ministry,
Agriculture and Agro Based Industry Ministry, MARA, SME Bank, Agro Bank,
etc. with hundreds of billions of government funds denied to the Indians.

35. RM 2.5 Billion AIM loans were given to 190, 900 poor households earning below RM2000 per month. But the Malaysian Indian Business Association
President, Mr. P. Sivakumar was reported to have said that the
government’s AIM did not provide micro credit loans to all the 200 Indians it
had recommended.

36. “Scrap metal businesses destroyed by ex Chief Minister the Selangor State, Khir Toyo (of UMNO)”, says Indian Scrap Metals Association Secretary, Mr. Param, a total number of 1118 (almost all Indians) scrap metal business licenses were cancelled in the last three years.

37. Hundreds of thousands of poor Indian squatter colonies demolished with no
or very little alternative homes.

38. Thousands of police reports have been lodged on the foresaid UMNO
controlled Malaysian Government’s atrocities but almost zero action has
been taken.

39. All our scores of Public Interest, Litigations and Suits concerning the most
serious of the foresaid issues have been dismissed by the Malaysian High
Courts or have not seen justices being done. The most senior of the 48
Malaysian High Court Judges who resigned with effect from 1/12/08 were
sent to “Booth Camps” with selected Judges and Judicial Officers to
indoctrinate those attending to hold the view that the UMNO Government’s
interest was “ more important than all else when we are considering our
Judgments”.

40. Hindraf’s 18 Point Demands dated 12/08/07 to the Prime Minister for equality
and equal upward mobility, be included and not excluded and segregated
from the national main stream development of Malaysia had been
completely ignored and rejected.

41. There is a 2 Million Indian population in Malaysia but zero Indian majority Parliament and State seats. The current Indian majority seats have been
jerry mandered.


42. 100,000 unprecedented Hindraf People Power Peaceful Assembly that was
held on 25/11/07 was cruelly crushed, 241 arrested and maliciously
prosecuted including for attempted murder of a policeman, a charge which is
an impossible charge in law where bail was denied.

43. All the above atrocities are just the tip of the iceberg.


Conclusion

Malaysia has not only very successfully projected to the world its world tallest Twin Towers but also has very successfully suppressed the aforesaid atrocities against the Indians over the last 51 years. These atrocities are backed by researched news reports and publications as per my (full) paper which is also presented and distributed herein at this conference.


Thank you


P.Wathaymoorthy
Chairman
HINDRAF

Two artificial Malays and A Indian Villian

Things in Malaysia are surely becoming bitchy.

First and foremost, a Malay UMNO Bukit Bendera, Ahmad Ismail (A.I) and his 'pendatang' remark. My, how this issue has exploded. First his disappearance, then Pak Lah telling 'I'll tell him no to do it again', then Najib publicly apologizing for A.I's remarks and on behalf of UMNO, to A.I's press conference yesterday where he flatly refused to apologize.

Here, another Malay, a blast from the past, wades in, Tun Dr.M, the guy who does not seem to realize he has already retired (Perhaps old age contributes to amnesia?). At 83 years old, when most of his age would already be in a coffin six feet under, the former Prime Minister thinks he is still the Prime Minister and thus needs to comment on ever issue affecting Malaysia every 3 seconds. Perhaps due to old age and declining mental faculties, he does not realize the meaning of the word 'former'.

Anyway, the jolly old Dr.M gives his ever flowing comments from his never wrong, know it all 83 year old mind. He said that A.I does not need to apologize, in fact ex-Prime Minister asked why must Malay leaders say sorry. Of course, the old man thought this was still the time when he reigned supreme over the land, where once his word was the law.The old man didn't expect the backlash from the blogosphere and the Internet over his comments. People expressed disgust at him (once an offence punishable by ISA) and called him a racist and even questioned Dr.M (once, you could have been hauled up in court and charged with sodomy for that)

Of course, once his mind came back to 2008, he realized the mistake and backtracked, saying that he was not defending A.I and he didn't like what Ahmad had said. He explained he was merely expressing disgust at the Malay leaders' s inability to control racism and the culprit should be hauled up to the UMNO Disciplinary Committee if he refused to apologize. (Where I'm guessing he'd probably be awarded with a keris and celebrated with a kenduri)Yeah, right......Is this a case of one Ultra defending another Ultra?There is an interesting parallel.

Remember what Mahathir said about George Soros, the Jewish American investor/financier, whom Mahathir blamed for the Asian Economic Crisis? Remember how he ranted and raved against Soros? He blasted Soros, accusing him of this and that and maintaining that Soros was to blame. Look at the picture below, funny how old age affects your mind doesn't it?

You know, a lot of accusations has been hurled at Anwar that he has the support of the US and he was going to 'sell' the nation to the US after he becomes PM. Much has also been bandied about that Anwar was close to Wolfowitz and many Jews.Now, look at the picture above. That is Dr.M and the man supposedly responsible for the Asian Economic Crisis of 1997, George Soros. Look at the picture... Awwwww... Doesn't Dr.M look so happy?Remember that Dr.M once said in a speech that 'the Jews rule the world by proxy'? If Dr.M's 83 year old mind has forgotten, George Soros is Jewish, he is a Jew. So, Dr.M is shaking the hand of a Jew, taking into consideration his own speech, does this mean he is also a proxy of the Jews?

Hilarious!Anyhow, we passed the two Malays and now we come to the Indian in question. No good story would be complete without a Tamil film villain. Who is he? Probably the most famous Indian ever in Malaysia. A man dubbed 'The Lord of the Indians', he is none other that Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu.Of course, the former Works Minister and the still reigning MIC supremo has been out of the news a while after his thumping and utterly humiliating defeat in the last general elections, where, even for his considerably bloated girth, he too was uprooted by the political tsunami.

Why is he in the news?Malaysia today had an article on it, 'How Samy made 50 million with a stroke of a pen'. Of course, for us common folk who have to languish and work hard just for RM 50, we thought this was a heartfelt public tip provided by Samy Vellu on how to increase our income in face of tough times.Turns out it was a report on how Samy allegedly bought a state owned land for RM 3.8million. The problem was the land was worth RM 52 million, not to mention it was slated for a school. Bought under the MIC's name, Samy was named as the beneficiary on the title and the MIC as only trustee. Don't take my word for it, look at the documents.

Where is our nation heading to?

Into the pockets of our politicians?

One wonders what is Pak Lah doing...

courtesy of lost*3

Samy tells BN: Ignore Indians at your peril

The government's failure to act on issues concerning the Indian community had led the once loyal supporters of Barisan Nasional (BN) to cast their ballots for the opposition in the March 8 polls.

This was the message put across by MIC president S Samy Vellu during a press conference at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur after chairing the central working committee (CWC) meeting this afternoon.

The veteran politician also warned that if the situation is not rectified, it could pave the way for greater losses.

Responding to questions on his call to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders from detention, Samy Vellu said: "I know how much the Indian community is attached to BN."

"They loved BN! 85 percent ... 85 percent. But we always had to cry for something to be done. If things were done, I don't think they would have moved an inch.

"Now, the whole Indian crowd has moved. Usually, BN gets about 75 percent or 80 percent from the Indian community.

"Now, they have got 45 to 50 (percent). About 35 percent have moved ... If you still don't worry about them, then let God decide-lah, I won't say anything at all," he added.

Nevertheless, the MIC president said the party would continue to tell the Indian community that its future is with the ruling coalition

"When I say that, the BN government must also say and do things (to show) that they care for the community," he added.

Three-hour discussion
As for the CWC meeting, Samy Vellu said the members held a three-hour discussion - peppered with debates and anger - on issues such as equity ownership, employment and loans for businesses.

He said it was decided that a delegation led by the MIC president would meet with Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Amirsham Aziz who overseas the Economic Planning Unit as soon as possible.

Urging the government to act and create more opportunities, Samy Vellu said these are issues close to the heart of the Indian community.

"This was a big challenge for us in the elections. We could not answer many of the questions raised by the opposition because the government did not act on these issues," he added.

On the three percent equity target for the Indian community in the Ninth Malaysia Plan (9MP), Samy Vellu said the equity ownership has dropped to 1.2 percent from 1.5 percent.

"Why did it go down? Because the government did not take the appropriate action. If proper action was taken, this would not have happened. The government did not pay proper attention to this," he said.

Samy Vellu also revealed that he received reports of several figures working in GLCs being told to leave as the 'opportunities' have been given to others.

"This is not the proper system. GLCs only hold the money and investments of the government. So the government must look at this as well," he said.

'This cannot, that cannot'
On Small Medium Enterprise (SME) loans, Samy Vellu said MIC is dissatisfied that a large number of Indian applicants have been turned down.

Quizzed on this, he said: "Many people come and report to us that although they have applied, they do not get the loans."

"There are some who say (they were told) that they are not qualified to apply. This is not right ... these are the officers who say 'this cannot, that cannot' when people apply. In the end, the government gets the bad name," he added.

Samy Vellu also said that numerous quarters have accused MIC of not voicing out issues concerning the community.

"We were voicing out issues even before they (the accusers) were born. All these youngsters who are 21, 22 years old are using blogs to say that we (MIC) have not been doing anything for 27 years.

"But they don't see if there is any validity to their accusations," added the 72-year-old politician who has been helming MIC for 28 years.





RK Anand - Malaysiakini

Free Hindraf 5: MIC chief returns fire

MIC president S Samy Vellu today launched a counter attack against those who assailed him for calling on the government to free the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders detained without trial.

Kicking off with Umno vice-president and Malacca Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam, he said: "I don't worry about Ali Rustam."

"Whatever he says has nothing to do with me. He has got his own politics but I have no politics. I am talking as a man who feels for the people inside," he added when asked about this during a press conference at the party headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

On Monday, Ali Rustam told the MIC president not to use the Hindraf issue for his own political interest.

Next in Samy Vellu's line of fire were the critical voices in Hindraf.

"The second day after I said this (free the five), a lot of Hindraf fellows were attacking me.
"I know why they attacked me, they like them (the five) to be in detention for a long time in order to attain their political status ... I think it is real nonsense.

"When somebody is trying to help them, they are saying 'leave us, leave us, you are not genuine'.
"How do I prove I am genuine? You think I have to put a plastic soda on my body, clean and make my skin white before they believe me."

Supposed to meet Hindraf chairperson
Asked if Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy was supposed to meet him during a recent trip to India, Samy Vellu said they spoke to each other.

"Waythamoorthy spoke to me, I also spoke to him. He promised that when I went to India, we will have a meeting to discuss the issues that are confronting us.

"Then he said he is going to Bombay (Mumbai) and I went to Madras (Chennai). Then he said let us reserve the 27th of last month for our discussion.

"I waited in my hotel, I waited and waited up to 11 o'clock and I gave him a call but he did not attend the phone, then I packed up my things and came back to Malaysia ... Hindraf is not my enemy, but they are not my friends also," he added.

Waythamoorthy - who is in London in self-exile - was also critical of Samy Vellu's decision to push for the release of the five Hindraf leaders held under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
The Hindraf chairperson's brother, Uthayakumar, is among those detained. The rest are M Manoharan, V Ganabatirau, T Vasantha Kumar and R Kenghadharan.

They were arrested shortly after organising a mammoth rally in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 which saw some 30,000 Indians taking to the streets.

In the past, Samy Vellu had been highly critical of the movement and the demonstration.

Sad about Dr Mahathir's remarks
Asked if MIC is now regonising the Hindraf struggle as legitimate by calling for the release of its leaders, the president said: "I am not talking about the legitimate thing or whatever they are talking about."

"The question is ... what is due to Indians was not attended to by the government. I have raised this a thousand times in the cabinet. I am very particular about it even from the time of (former premier) Dr Mahathir (Mohamad)," he added.

On that note, Samy Vellu said - in reference to Mahathir's comments published in Malaysiakini - that he was saddened by the former premier's assertion that the MIC president did not raise these issues then.

"I have got evidence to say the amount of things that I have raised in the cabinet. I have all the cabinet minutes.

"I was so unhappy that Mahathir said I did not raise anything... But I don't want to talk about him, I respect him, he is a great man. I don't want to argue with him. I still have a lot of respect, but I wanted to correct him that I have asked (about the issues).

"If he says 'no' .... ask him to put his hand on his chest and find out whether it is true," he added.

On his scheduled meeting with Home Minister Syed Hamid Syed Albar regarding the Hindraf five this evening, Samy Vellu said he would explain to the minister why the detainees must be freed.

"I will also tell him how their families feel about it. As far as I am concerned matters are settling. The elections are over. Now, I think they should be given their freedom," he added.

Asked what his next move would be if the government does not free the detainees, Samy Vellu replied: "I will continuously pressure the government because I am not part of the government now."

The 72-year-old MIC president and former works minister was among the casualties of the March 8 polls. The party was defeated in 18 of its 28 seats.

Towards the end of the press conference, Samy Vellu was asked if Mahathir's incessant attacks against Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi would weaken the Barisan Nasional further.

However, the veteran politician refused to be drawn into this. "I have already told you I will not talk anything about Mahathir. I will stick to it."





RK Anand - Malaysiakini

Samy, Subra and the mystical handshake

It puzzles me in what S Samy Vellu was doing prior to the elections for the past 28 years, being the most senior cabinet minister under the leadership of Dr Mahathir Mohammad and Abdullah Haji Ahmad Badawi.

We now suspect that what Mahathir had commented prior to the recent elections in that Samy Vellu had never raised issues regarding the Indian community’s grouses in the cabinet meetings could be true. A very interesting fact to note is that the remarks of Mahathir were not denied by Samy Vellu. This denial confirms that Samy Vellu never stood up for the Indian community.

I strongly believe that standing up for Indians was never part of Samy Vellu's political agenda and after reading this letter, your readers would be able to conclude for themselves what was this man's real agenda in politics.

Coming back to the recent scenario, it is obvious that Samy Vellu is fishing for media attention by making abrupt statements and shedding crocodile tears by demanding that "Indians want immediate action", "any more delays would only cause anxiety and unhappiness among the Indians". Samy Velu probably forgot that it was actually his own flawed leadership over the past 28 years that has delayed the implementation of government-related projects for the benefit of Indians, which in his own words ‘caused anxiety and unhappiness among the Indians’.

It is also awkwardly awful to read his desired expression that ‘we want the Indian community to move forward with the other communities’. How suddenly the so-called most senior cabinet minister Samy Vellu got this idea? And that too only after the severe defeat at his own constituency of Sungai Siput by his own constituents?

His real agenda? Approximately two decades ago, the Indian community trusted Samy Vellu who planned to raise holding funds from the Indian community to establish Maika Holdings. The government was very generous to allocate internationally profitable Telekom shares to Maika Holdings. The phantomlike initiative by Samy Velu received tremendous support from the Indian community comprising of all walks of life. The majority of them retired rubber tapers, who saved their hard earned money in the form of EPF savings, bank savings, in gold and jewelry, contributed without hesitation. All these hard-earned assets owned by the poor Indian community went to Maika Holdings in the form of shares.

The self-proclaimed Indian indissoluble leader, Samy Velu, came forward and declared that Maika Holding shareholders are enjoying peace of mind as the fate of their savings invested in Maika Holdings is secured.

What really happened? It is an inevitable fact that Samy Velu hired mercenaries whose only mission was to provide ‘kind and subtle treatment’ by dragging and kicking out Maika shareholders who raised any questions on the fate of their savings during the Maika Holdings AGM meetings. Before performing such an insulting and inhumane act, Samy Vellu should have realised that the poor shareholders were not asking a 10% commission from the salary that Samy Velu had earned as the most senior cabinet minister. The poor Maika shareholders were only asking for Maika to return their hard-earned money that they had invested by trusting Samy Vellu and his leadership.

One victim was former MIC deputy president Dato S. Subramaniam who tried to attend the latest Maika Holding AGM to raise matters of concern expressed by shareholders. He had every right to attend the AGM simply because he was the chairman of Nesa Cooperative Society which had invested a considerable amount in the Maika Holdings. It is also the right of Dato Subra to express his unhappiness over the state of affairs of the mismanagement of Maika Holdings because being the most senior MIC leader who served under Tan Sri Manikavasagam. But what happened to Dato Subra at the latest AGM? He was nearly pushed down by the mercenaries hired by Samy Velu who were wearing fancy earrings with flamboyant hair styles. These people were described by the Indian media as ‘hooligans’. Dato Subra was not the only victim; the IPF stalwart MG Pandinathan faced the same music at one of the Maika's AGM some time ago. He was attacked and kicked out of the AGM simply because he raised some questions regarding the state of affairs of Maika holdings.

Shareholders belonging to the Indian community are now asking Samy Vellu - when are you settling the Maika share money to the rightful shareholders? The latest voice came from the recently elected Ipoh Barat Member of Parliament Mr Kulasegaran who is also ‘unfortunately’ a rightful shareholder of Maika Holdings.

Despite this tormenting situation which has ignited anger among the Indian community in this country, Samy Vellu - who held the MIC leadership for the past 28 years - is now banging on the government's door and complaining that ‘there should be more actions and less planning’ for the Indian community.

It surprises me that Samy Vellu has totally forgotten that he was part of the government that according to him has let the Indian community down. I am able to recall that just a few months ago, the entire scenario was somewhat different. Samy Vellu's speeches were full of flowers for the government related aid and resources allocated to the Indian community. It is therefore highly probable that Samy could be suffering from dementia as he seems to forget things so very fast! Let me reinforce a statement here; It is Samy Velu who has ‘individually’ failed the Indian community not the Malaysian government.

‘Indians slogged for the country for the past 145 years working in estates and construction sectors and found themselves displaced after many estates were closed’. This statement made by Samy Vellu sounds very much similar to the statement made by the national Indian hero P. Uthayakumar currently held under ISA detention.

The words of P.Uthayakumar still rings in the ears, heart and souls of many Indian Malaysians and our dear friend Samy Vellu has plagiarised Uthayakumar's statement. Indeed it looks like Samy Vellu is seriously displaced himself.

And what about the Mystical Handshake? Samy Vellu screams in a loud shout that many Indian families were forced to live in slumps after they were evicted from their land that had been earmarked for the double tracking railway project. A fact to note is that after all these years we never heard Samy Vellu highlighting these matters to the government or at the MIC assemblies or during the election campaign lectures.

Being the former works minister, he must have had some role in planning, approving and initiating the double tracking railway project. Probably he was very much busy with his ‘ministerial duties’ that he forgot the fact that when the double tracking project successfully comes to end so will the homes of the poor Indian families affected by the project.

At this juncture, the Indian community must be aware of the ‘Mystical Handshake’ with his former deputy Dato Subramaniam in the name of burying the hatchet and performing the funeral rites for previous ill feelings and evil deeds.

It is interesting to note that if this mystical alliance never took place Dato Subra would have made use of his influential news paper Makkal Osai to bombard Samy Velu for his past, present and future mistakes. The bombardment did take place for some time until the ‘mystical handshake’ took place, and till today this unholy act has not been endorsed by Dato Subramaniam's close allies from Perlis to Johor. Even the stalwart and the die-hard supporters of Samy Vellu never came forward to endorse the ‘mystical handshake’ of the duo.

Many Indians are puzzled. Under what deal did these two outmoded leaders signed and sealed an unholy compromise. Only Lord Murugan may know (Lord Muragan, one of the Indian deities, is known to have two alternate names - Vellu and Subramaniam).

The mystical handshake demonstrated Samy Velu's craftiness in 21st-century political tricks and gimmicks. An interesting development recently is that Dato Subra and Makkal Osai, Makkal Murasu, Nayanam and Malaysian Nanban cannot now demand or in any way be involved in campaigning for Samy Vellu to step down.

In other words Samy Vellu's mystical handshake that took place in the twilight of the new moon ammavasai has silenced and suppressed the voice of the large Indian Malaysian Indian demanding for Samy Vellu to step down.

Had Samy Vellu lived during the glorious times of the Roman Empire, he would have been awarded with the highest recognition for his wonderful craftsmanship!





The Indian Eye - Malaysiakini

Samy: Indians want immediate action - Old fool crying

The MIC wants the government to speed up the implementation of the various programmes and plans that was promised for the Indian community before the last general election, said party president S Samy Vellu.

In a statement today, he said any more delays would only cause anxiety and unhappiness among the Indians.

"We want the Indian community to move forward with the other communities," he added.

Samy Vellu said MIC and the Indian community will not tolerate any more excuses or delays on the part of the authorities in implementing the programmes and plans already agreed upon.

"We want immediate and concrete actions," he said, adding that MIC has already submitted several reports on how the government could help the Indians in several fields.

Samy Vellu said the Indians have slogged for the country for the past 145 years working in estates and construction sectors and now found themselves displaced after many estates were closed.

He also cited an example where many Indian families were forced to live in slumps after they were evicted from their land that has been earmarked for the double-tracking railway project.

Samy Vellu said there should be more action and less planning "because all the planning and proposals have been submitted to the government".

Help the people
He also chided the opposition for harping on what the opposition claimed as the government’s failure in addressing the problems of the Indians rather then focusing their attention on the people.

"You (the opposition) have been elected to form governments in several states. Do not just point fingers at anyone. Tell the people of your plans to uplift them socially and economically," he said.

He said now was not the time to engage in finger pointing or blaming others.

"The election is over. Let us all galvanise our energies and resources to help the people. They want results," he added.

The 72-year old MIC president was also defeated in the March 8 polls. In total, MIC lost 18 of its 28 seats.

Meanwhile, MIC information chief M Saravanan reiterated that programmes such as helping the Tamil language schools, raising the number of Indians in the civil service, training youths and improving economic and educational opportunities for them were promised before the elections.

"The government really needs to speed up these plans, which were already agreed upon earlier," Saravanan told Malaysiakini.

"If we wait until Parliament resumes, opposition parties will take advantage of the situation and claim the efforts as theirs," said the newly appointed Federal Territory deputy minister.

Though the MIC has not specified any quotas for Indians joining the civil service, it nevertheless wants a better flow of information when vacancies arise.

Saravanan, while confident that the government will meet its promises, said speed is imperative under the new political climate.

Samy Vellu in MIC, like a bull in China shop

MIC will work harder in order to win back the Indian community's trust’. So says the former MP from Sungai Siput. He is also quoted as saying, ‘I will now focus my energy on MIC and the problems affecting the Indians as I believe that I can still reunite the Indians. I'm sure I can do this as I know everyone. I've done this for 42 years and I know my people.’

This got me thinking about a few questions. Isn't it rather presumptuous of Samy Vellu to think he's the right person for rebuilding Indian Malaysians' trust in the MIC? Besides, what exactly does he mean that he ‘will now focus [his] energy on MIC and the problems affecting the Indians"? I though that was precisely what he was supposedly responsible for during all the years while at the helm of the MIC.

Seems to me, Samy Vellu's apparent awakening to the plight of the Indians has been much too long overdue, and quite frankly, irrelevant. I wonder just why it didn't dawn on him that there was in fact a considerable amount of work to be done to uplift those Indians for whom a generation or more of economic change, development, and opportunities have actually passed them by, and for whom the boom years of Malaysian development seemed to have been nothing more than a mirage.

Was he not, then, focusing on problems affecting then Indians? If not, what exactly was he doing all these years as the unrelenting occupant of the office of president of MIC?

Oh, and just for the record, it also warrants asking why he seems to assume that the Indians are in need of being united. Perhaps he needs to be reminded – again - that we were very united indeed when we sent a resounding message of no-confidence to the current MIC leadership. No. I for one don't see how the Indians are disunited and in need of uniting.

Quite the contrary, we have arguably never been more united than we are now! We are united in our frustration with Samy Vellu's failure as an advocate and voice for our concerns; we are united in feeling neglected and treated as second-class citizens; united in our realisation that we are consistently rendered irrelevant to the priorities of the Barisan National; united in being fed-up about repeated denial of reasonable access to public higher education; united in finding that the path to suicide for our youth is a lot more appealing than the path to hope and fulfillment of their dreams.

Need I go on?

I don't suppose the many 'yes-men' that make up his inner-circle in his MIC can really tell Samy Vellu that Indian Malaysians are united about all the aforementioned, and we, as Malaysians, are going to remain united in affirming our rights under the constitution. And I have a fairly strong feeling that he and his cadres in the MIC have seen that Indians can articulate and affirm themselves in Malaysian society even as the MIC regressed into being practically obsolete.

It appears that the post-mortem that the MIC will undertake will essentially focus more on how to bring Indian voters back into the MIC and Barisan fold, and not much else. Of course, this might take some enticing and 'greasing' of the proverbial wheel, but not much will change. Besides, I for one am convinced that to have Samy Vellu rebuild the MIC would be as constructive as letting a bull run free in a china shop. Have we not seen what his supposed leadership skills have done to the organisation?

This in turn raises a larger question: Does having an MIC really matter now and is it worth resuscitating? Of course, if the answer is in the affirmative, then it warrants considering whether Samy Vellu is indeed the appropriate person to spearhead this process. Well, I think by now you know what I think. And why should those who are committed to rebuilding the MIC want to bother with Samy Vellu?

Would he not just be more of a liability; a sore reminder of the very failure the organisation has become? Beyond being a symbolic albatross, there are other pragmatic downsides to his involvement in any rebuilding effort. There is just too much in-party political baggage, mediocrity, and invested self-interest that will taint any supposed revitalisation process. Having dominated the limelight all these years and, by extension, systematically blocking the infusion of dynamic, articulate, progressive, and new blood into the MIC fold – certainly not the kind that might be independent minded – how can he genuinely and credibly oversee the rebuilding of the MIC?

It might come as a surprise to him that a wide spectrum of Malaysians (Indians and non-Indians alike), have for a long time found the MIC to be a deep disappointment, if not an embarrassment. No sugar coating and public 'kiss-and-make up' such as between S Subramaniam and Samy Vellu will suffice in dismantling the entrenched organisational and structural problems that plague the MIC.

There are, of course, other alternatives and Indian voters have taken a significant step in experimenting with such alternative approaches. There are other real and credible advocates for social justice out there. Opposition parties and civic groups also have long been accessible to Indian Malaysians. In the political arena, Indians have now demonstrated a united (no pun intended!) front in pursuing a more credible multi-racial alternative.

Perhaps the political shift signaled by the twelfth general election will be a true awakening for the Indians (and for that matter, all Malaysians) that conscientious representatives of the people come in all colours, religions and political stripes.




G Krishnan Mar 21, 08 4:52pm

Times up Samy...........Leave

"Fifty MIC branch chairmen in Selangor are blaming Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu for the party's dismal performance in the general election.

From issues of unemployment and poor university intake of Indians to the failure of the MIC's investment arm, Maika Holdings, the branch chairmen blamed the party president for its heavy losses. They also accused Samy Vellu of not appreciating and respecting loyal grassroots leaders. About 50 chairmen came to this conclusion at a meeting yesterday organised by MIC veterans Petaling Jaya Selatan division chairman V. Subramaniam, better known as "Barat" Maniam, Selangor MIC information chief P. Wilson and former Kapar division chairman S. Subramaniam, better known as Jumbo Maniam.

Selangor MIC has 900 branches.A branch chairman, P. Rajendran said people told him that if MIC wanted to change, then Samy Vellu must leave."


It is not a secret that Samy Vellu was disliked by grassroots of the Indian community since a long time, but the community throw its support behind MIC all these while because of Barisan National as it was seen as the only way to go for the community.

But ever since the Barisan government shows its disrespect to the Indians openly and MIC continues to play mandore role to silence the Indians, many realised that MIC and BN is not the silver lining seen in the dark cloud.
Hence, MIC was embarassed in the 12th General Election and deserted.

So, as the key reason of the Indians situation today, this thick skinned Samy Vellu must leave MIC. And the other leaders of the party must stop singing the same tune to support Samy Vellu.

I call upon the Malaysian Indians to have courage and dignity, stand tall and get Samy Vellu and his team OUT of MIC, as MIC is not Samy Vellu's property.

He already stripped the Malaysian Indians of millions of ringgit in his Maika Holdings scam.

Will the government have the guts to investigate Maika Holdings?

Remember, United we are strong, Divided we fall.
HINDRAF have proven this point to us.

SO, either Samy Vellu and his team leaves MIC or the Malaysian Indians leaves MIC.
Decide who stays...........!!!!!!!!!