Saravanan walks off in huff over 'mandore' label .

KUALA LUMPUR: Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Deputy Minister M Saravanan, miffed at being labelled a “mandore”, walked off in huff from a group of residents wanting to hand a memo to Kuala Lumpur mayor, Ahmad Fuad Ismail. Saravanan brusquely told them to seek legal help and left them in a lurch at Kuala Lumpur City Hall after reading a copy of the memo which referred to him as “mandore” (supervisor).

Beneath the glamor and the rhetoric of Little India

The Indian community has made important contributions to the development of Malaysia during the past hundred years. They have worked with sincerity and dedication. They have excelled at medicine, law, engineering and accountancy. They have participated at each stage in the building of Malaysia - Dr Manmohan Singh, Prime Minister of India


It must have been a sense of achievement, pride, a moment of heightened emotion, even a short period of mild ecstasy that Malaysian Indians felt on hearing these words from the Prime Minister of India Dr Manmohan Singh during the Inauguration of Little India in Brickfields, Kuala Lumpur recently.

Of all his speech, perhaps these were the words, the balm that the Indian community in Malaysia valued the most. For their tired ears, injected and attacked once too often by heart-stabbing and pride degrading racial slurs, Manmohan's gentle and limited comfort still offered a source of interim refuge.

The encounter while brief was fascinating for the mostly-Indian residents there, who gawked to see their congested and almost-slum neighbourhood turned into the center of attention and used as a bridge to strengthen India and Malaysian ties.

Despite their mental slavery, few Malaysian Indians will refuse to acknowledge Brickfields as a platform of Indian heritage, a hub where traditional food, costumes, savories, decorations, spices and accessories can be found along with the personal treasure troves of deeply-buried memories of many family gatherings.


Stacked-to-the-brim shops beautified with authentic India decorations like Sakthi Rasam, Parampara incense and Gold Winner Sunflower oil plus grand welcoming archways seem convincing enough to crown the streets of Brickfields as 'Little India', although many also claimed that such a description actually belittled the Indians.

Since the first day it was proposed, the Little India project has received mixed reactions from various groups. Unsurprisingly, 'barking agents' barked with baseless allegations, while 'community welfare driven' people threatened to protest. But the biggest group were the clueless jokers who clung onto their 'favorite figures' for the free publicity.

Looking at it from a different context, Little India might help to beef up the economy of this nation, or so the Malaysian authorities say. A series of MoU and Agreements -Agreement towards implementing Comprehensive Economic Cooperation Agreement (CECA) between India and Malaysia on 1st July 2011

MOU on Cooperation in the Field of Traditional Systems of Medicine

MOU for cooperation in the filed of Tourism

MOU for Cooperation in the filed of IT & Services

Agreement between CSIR of India and UNIK of Malaysia on Research and Development Collaboration

Cultural Exchange Programme for 2010-13

- were signed between both Prime Ministers and widely touted to improve access to each other's market. The mutual benefit that is expected to be achieved by both regimes is the increase in FDI.

The visions look promising for those who read the details of each MoU, yet the yield of the projects are questionable especially against the current reality of the racially-protected Malaysian economy. With the Najib administration hesitant to implement the NEM and meritocracy to overcome leakages and wasting capitalism, the possibility for the people to really benefit is doubtful.

Why dream of driving a Ferrari when even owning an old kapchai is difficult? Within the Indian community, there were many grouses from the grass root people. Some hawkers were not happy with the project, complaining that the promised relocations for their shops were not ready and this affected their business badly.

A walk along Brickfields on a fine day wold explain to you the existing marginalization in the community. Wedged between luxurious condominiums and high-class restaurants are many poor and middle-income families - trapped by the lack of opportunities. If you are a frequent visitor, you would have bumped into kids selling pens or souvenirs. When questioned, they will utter their infamous memorized sentence 'My family is poor and I am selling these things after school to support them'. But few of their customers would not be able to guess correctly that these kids are actually controlled by syndicates who are taking advantage of them.

Although, one can argue that the community's sufferings is exacerbated by their own attitude, won't the implementation of 'Gigantic Projects' create greater marginalization and enlarge the economic and social gap between the rich and the poor. In other words, won't it worsen urban poverty - the signs of which are already apparent in Brickfields - with or without the Little India revamp.

You do not need a degree in Economics or Science Political to make sense of the current situation and pose a simple question, 'How does Little India benefit these 'Little Indians' as a whole?'

We might need Little India for various reasons but with fundamental rights and necessities ignored and abandoned, dreams about building a business empire is equivalent to building a sand castle in the air!

To talk about exporting expertise or competing globally to folks gathered at the streets there is ridiculous when their basic rights are axed and daily livelihood jeopardized. To reminisce about past walkabouts in the area or eating curry does not make sense to the folks, who are struggling to make a meager income stretch for a month.

In this context, what else can Little India be if not another of the government's rhetoric to boost public relations or some other agenda to fish for Indian votes for upcoming General Election. Perhaps Little India is the 'help' extended to the people there for which they are expected to 'return' this help' very soon.

The fact is it is just too early to judge whether Little India is a successful project or a failed mission. The yield can only be observed in the long run. However, we need to remind ourselves that unresolved issues at the grass root level could generate disastrous impact that could contribute to the down fall of the larger society.

Is Little India promised wealth or planned disaster? Figures in the future shall speak for themselves
 
Source : http://www.malaysia-chronicle.com/2010/10/beneath-glamor-and-rhetoric-of-little.html

Banting murders: Convict's dad says cops duped him .

KUALA LUMPUR: The father of one of the youths sentenced in connection with the murder of cosmetics millionairess Sosilawati Lawiya and three others claimed that the police duped him and his son.K Sarawanan, 19, was sentenced to seven years in jail after pleading guilty to disposing of evidence pertaining to the quadruple murders.However, his father N Kandasamy filed a report with the Dang Wangi police headquarters here this morning claiming that he was misled over his son's legal representation.

Najib, Manmohan light up 'Little India' .

KUALA LUMPUR: Amidst much fanfare and heavy security presence, Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh today put “Little India” on the big map of the world.

Both premiers jointly launched Malaysia's new attraction at Brickfields here at about 6pm to rousing applause of the nearly 10,000 crowd.Najib and Manmohan unveiled a giant water fountain at Jalan Travers, as performers showcased their dance routines to reflect the multi-racial nature of the country.

Little India launch: Nurul slighted by Saravanan .

KUALA LUMPUR: Nurul Izzah Anwar is disappointed that she was not extended an invitation for the launching of “Little India” in Brickfields by Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh despite being the MP of the constituency. The Lembah Pantai MP said she was given an assurance by Federal Territories and Urban Well-Being Deputy Minister M Saravanan that she will be invited to the event.

Malaysia, India to begin free trade mid-2011

Malaysia and India announced today that a long delayed trade accord between the two countries would take effect by July 2011, increasing two-way trade to 15 billion dollars by 2015."I'm glad to officially announce that the agreement will come into effect in 2011."That will signify a huge strategic move... and establish a strategic and stronger bilateral relationship," Prime Minister Najib Razak told a joint news conference after a meeting with Indian counterpart Manmohan Singh.

Protest demo in Brickfields: SMS making the rounds .

KUALA LUMPUR: Police today advised the public to ignore a SMS going around urging people to gather in front of the Sri Kota building in Brickfields here tomorrow to protest the visit of Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh. City police chief Muhammad Sabtu Osman, in a statement here, said the SMS asked people to wear black or black armbands and gather at the venue at 10am.

A kiss before being beaten and taken away

A witness in the R Gunasegaran death in custody case was whisked away by the police from his house in Kuala Lumpur last night.K Selvachandran's wife S Saraswathy (left in photo), said she was told to give him a goodbye kiss by police officers - four male and one female - who came to her house at about 10pm before taking him away.She alleged that one of the policemen grabbed the house key when Selvachandran was trying to unlock the door, punched him and opened the door themselves.

Witness who testified against cops 'arrested' .

KUALA LUMPUR: A witness in the just-concluded R Gunasegaran inquest was allegedly roughed-up and arrested by several men claiming to be policemen last night. The victim, unemployed K Selvachandran, 39, was one of the witnesses who had testified against the police in the custodial death inquest.Social activist C Sekar told FMT that the men came to Selvachandran's house at the Desa Rejang flats in Setapak here around 10pm.

Help Indians, Human Rights Party pleads to Manmohan

Having had no positive response from the Malaysian government, the Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP) is now appealing to three international leaders, who are scheduled to visit Malaysia soon, to intervene and help resolve the social-economic plight of the marginalised Indian community in the country.HRP pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar  told Malaysiakini that the first leader in HRP's agenda is Indian Prime Minister Manmohan Singh, who is scheduled to arrive in Malaysia today.

Eyewitness in police custodial death case: Suaram calls emergency PC

Human rights group Suaram will hold an emergency press conference at 2pm today, Oct 26, at the Selangor Chinese Assembly Hall on the arrest of Selvachandan Krishnan, an eyewitness in the inquest of police custodial death victim R Gunasegaran."We are shocked at what has happened to Selva and want to highlight to the public's attention the gross injustice and abuse of power surrounding the entire inquest," one of the lawyers involved in the inquest told Malaysia Chronicle.

'Sandwich kosong' for school kids, sardines missing

Imagine being promised a sardine sandwich, but given two slices of white bread with margarine.This is what the Auditor-General found being supplied under the Additional Food Programme (RMT) designed for schoolchildren by the government.In its report for the year of 2009, the Auditor-General found that SK Jeroco in Lahad Datu, which was supposed to provide the pupils sardine sandwiches with slices of cucumber, tomato and lettuce, gave them only margarine sandwiches.

Gunasegaran's death: Inquest returns open verdict

Coroner Siti Shakirah Mohtarudin today gave an open verdict during the inquest on the death of R Gunasegaran, ruling that the cause of death of the victim, who died while in police custody, cannot be conclusively proven.“This is an open verdict case as witness testimonies were not enough for a conclusion,” she said.An open verdict means that the evidence brought before the court could not enable it to determine the cause of death. The court therefore only records the death.

Hawkers in 'Little India' see little business .

KUALA LUMPUR: Some call it a refugee camp. Some call it a construction site. Nestled near the the Tun Sambanthan-Travers junction in Brickfields, few know it as a hawker centre. Hidden from public eye, the 68-lot centre is wedged between Jalan Tun Sambanthan and Jalan Sultan Abdul Samad, and spared the dust and smoke from nearby traffic.It is also spared from one very important factor: customers.

Najib trying to win Indians over -- clan by clan .

COMMENT Realising the importance of marginal Indian votes which decide the fate of many parliamentary and state seats, Najib Tun Razak, since becoming prime minister, has embarked on a mission to directly approach the community in a systematic and calculated manner which seems to be producing the desired results. He first visited the Batu Caves temple and followed up with another visit there during Thaipusam, hailed as the first by a Malaysian prime minister after a gap of almost 30 years.

Middlemen making fast buck on Brickfields traders .

KUALA LUMPUR: Lembah Pantai MP Nurul Izzah Anwar is urging Kuala Lumpur City Hall (DBKL) to deal directly with traders in Brickfields. She said middlemen had become an incessant problem for traders who do business in the area during Deepavali festival season as they block space and re-rent the lots for a higher rate.Speaking to reporters after a routine visit to traders in and around Brickfield yesterday, Nurul said every year the traders complained about doing business in the area during the festive season because of the high rents.

Little India, Indian PM’s visit not vote bait, says Saravanan

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 22 — Datuk M. Saravanan has denied that the Little India project in the city’s Brickfields district was a strategy to gain Indian support, despite the rush to complete it to greet Indian Prime Minister Dr Manmohan Singh’s arrival next Tuesday.With the majority of urban Chinese voters seen to be implacably set against the Barisan Nasional (BN), the transformation of Brickfields was among Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak’s several feel good measures to court the Indian electorate.“This (Little India) is not to get support for BN,” Saravanan told The Malaysian Insider.

Najib declares Melaka a developed state

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak tonight declared Melaka a developed state through video conferencing from Putra World Trade Centre (PWTC) in Kuala Lumpur.The historic declaration was beamed live at Stadium Hang Jebat in Melaka before a crowd of some 50,000 people including the Yang Dipertua Negeri Melaka Mohd Khalil Yaakob and Melaka Chief Minister Mohd Ali Rustam.The declaration was made at exactly 8.10pm.

'Murdered' tycoon's wife wants probe speeded up .

KUALA LUMPUR: The second wife of “murdered” Indian tycoon A Muthuraja has returned to Malaysia to pressure both the police and government to hasten investigations into her husband's case.S Usharani, 24, submitted a memorandum to the Indian High Commission today which included her initial report to the commission in March this year. She also pressed the high commission to push the police and government into taking swifter action.The memorandum was received by the Second Secretary Consular, Subhash Ramakrishna Pillai.

PM 'disappointed' with Rais .

KUALA LUMPUR: Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak is apparently disappointed with Information, Communications and Culture Minister Rais Yatim for lodging police reports against several bloggers. According to reports in several blogs, the prime minister had mentioned this during his speech at a meeting with a group of bloggers yesterday at his residence in Langgak Duta.The premier, who used the term “terkilan” (disappointed), said that a dialogue would have been a more reasonable approach.

DAP wants HRP to clarify its political stand

The Human Rights Party Malaysia's (HRP) must decide whether it supports Pakatan Rakyat or BN before negotiations for cooperation can be made for the coming general election.In stating this DAP national labour bureau chief A Sivanesan (right) said that the HRP president, P Uthayakumar, since his release from ISA detention, had been attacking Pakatan and blaming it for every incident that has affected the Indian community.

Use liberal media, govt advised .

KUALA LUMPUR: Dr Mahathir Mohamad believes that the government can gain from a liberal media because of the good that comes with the "nonsense" it puts out. The former prime minister said today the government must accept that the media is more liberal now than it was before and use it to understand what the people are thinking."There is a lot of nonsense coming out from the media now but there are also good ideas. If the government takes the media seriously, then it can actually benefit from what is being put on the media," he said in his keynote address at the International Forum held on the eve of the Umno general assembly.

Tough for Najib to get two-thirds, says ex-PM

Prime Minister Najib Razak will have an uphill battle regaining two-thirds majority in Parliament in the next general election, no thanks to the lacklustre performance of his predecessor, the fourth premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad says."(Najib) inherited a bad government. He is better than number five (Abdullah Ahmad Badawi) who was totally incompetent," he told reporters today. Speaking on the sidelines of an international forum at Kuala Lumpur today, Mahathir (left) spared no mercy for Abdullah, who was his handpicked successor, saying that the latter had wasted the strong mandate he received in the 2004 general election.

Neighbour: More than 10 shots fired

The neighbour of 15-year-old Aminulrasyid Amzah who was killed by police in April, today testified that he heard “more than 10" shots fired that night.Zafrullah Ahmad Zainal Abidin, 28, whose home at Jalan Silat Gayung 11/3A is located about 10m from the scene, said that he heard 'tap-tap-tap' sounds.“I heard something which sounded like fireworks growing louder and louder from the direction of Jalan Tarian 11/2A.

“The sound was like 'tap, tap-tap-tap, tap, tap-tap'. It was at random (with a lag of) one of two seconds between them,” he told the Shah Alam Session Court today.

Don't let Najib down, Samy urges govt agencies

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president S Samy Vellu today appealed to government agencies to work together with Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak in his efforts to uplift the Indian community.The party's long-serving president said that the prime minister had taken great efforts to reach out to the community and it should be supported by all government agencies.“Before 2008, the Indians had always voted for BN but the government failed to look into the community's plight," he said at a press conference at the party headquarters today,

BN amendments: MIC rejects majority decision

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC is firmly against Barisan Nasional's proposal to abolish the consensus-system in favour of a majority based decision, said its president S Samy Vellu today. “We have deliberated the matter in the Central Working committee (CWC) and we will stand firm by our decision,” he told reporters after chairing the CWC meeting at the party headquarters here.Yesterday, FMT reported that several controversial amendments were in the pipeline to be tabled during the Nov 28 BN convention. Among them is to scrap the consensus system.

MIC upset with PMR question

KUALA LUMPUR: The MIC expressed dismay over a question in the Pernilaian Menengah Rendah (PMR) History examination paper, which portrays as though Chinese and Tamil vernacular schools were a hindrance to national unity. SK Devamany, who was an academic before deciding to plunge into the world of politics, said such questions were contrary to the philosophy of education and "I believe this kind of questions were in the paper with bad intentions".

Crime prevention bureau to tackle Indian ills

PETALING JAYA: The newly-set up Malaysian Indian Visionary Association (MIVA) launched its Crime Prevention and Police Affairs Bureau today (yesterday) aimed at addressing the soaring crime rate among Indians. MIVA president V Mugilan said the bureau will conduct programmes to educate Indian youths on the ills of gangsterism and the soaring crime rate prevalent in the community.In addition, it will educate Indians of their basic rights which he claimed many lacked knowledge of.

Samy Vellu: It was time to go

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 14 — MIC’s longest serving president, Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu said yesterday that he had no regrets over his decision to step down in January next year, as the party needed a new leader.
He said with the changing political scenario and landscape, the party faced great challenges and needed more young and capable leaders to serve the Indian community.“So, I thought it is the time for me to leave and give them the opportunity to lead and serve the community and I’m very happy with that.

HRP wants to cut a deal with Pakatan

The Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP) wants to engage Pakatan Rakyat in talks with a view to cooperating in the sharing of election seats in the forthcoming 13th general election.HRP national information chief S Jayathas said their common political enemy is BN."In the last election Hindraf was the deciding political factor in making Pakatan shine in five states and denying BN a two-thirds majority.""HRP, which is Hindraf's political wing, has been in existence for almost one-and-a-half years now. "But PKR, DAP and PAS have refused to even engage in a dialogue with us.

Lawyer and trio charged with Banting murders

Lawyer N Patmanabhan, 41, and three farm workers were charged in the Teluk Datok Magistrate's Court in Banting with the murder of cosmetics queen Sosilawati Lawiya and three men.The farm workers T Thilaiyalagan, 19, R Matan, 20, and R Khatavarayan, 30.No plea was recorded from the four accused who were seen to be calm as the charge was read out to them, in Bahasa Malaysia for Patmanabhan and in Tamil for the others.

Yen Yen's visit Down Under cost RM245,000

A total of RM244,720 was spent by Tourism Minister Dr Ng Yen Yen and her aides during a ten day “promotional visit” to Australia and New Zealand last month. According to a written reply to Fong Po Kuan (DAP-Batu Gajah), the Tourism Ministry said that the minister was accompanied by a companion and a senior government officer.Fong asked the ministry to state the total expenditure of their 10-day mission and to describe the “inspirations” attained from the trip which can be applied locally.

Believe it or not - Malaysians have the most friends and are also the heaviest users of social networking sites on the planet.This is according to the latest survey by global market research firm TNS in its largest ever study into people's online activities and behaviour.Malaysians have an average of 233 digital friends, followed by 231 in Brazil and 217 in Norway.On the other end of the spectrum, Japanese have the fewest with 29, followed by 38 in Tanzania and 50 in South Korea.TNS chief development officer Matthew Froggatt said that the results could suggest "a culture that embraces fewer but closer friendships" in some countries.

Nazri: Indians are rightful citizens

All Indians who are born in Malaysia are not immigrants but rightful citizens of the country and they are eligible to enjoy their rights like other citizens, declared an outspoken senior Umno leader."The mothers of Indians born in Malaysia have spilled their blood on the soil of the nation when they delivered them into this world," Minister in the Prime Minister's Department Mohd Nazri Abdul Aziz said."Hence they are the sons of the Malaysian soil, as sung in our national anthem negara ku, tanah tumpahnya darahku (My country, the soil where my blood was shed)," explained the Padang Rengas MP."It is the Indonesians who come to our country (legally or illegally) who are the immigrants and not you Indians who were born here," the de facto law minister added.

MP Wee witnessed Rahimi sign SD, claims PKR man

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 12 — Kedah PKR Youth Chief Saiful Izham Ramli said today that Wangsa Maju MP Wee Choo Keong had witnessed Rahimi Osman sign one of two contentious statutory declarations (SD) on June 29, 2008.Saiful claimed that that the former PKR lawmaker acted as the commissioner of oaths when the SD was drafted.“My statement to the police was that on June 28, 2008 in a room at Quality Hotel Shah Alam... I had taken statements from potential witnesses that were working and had worked at the office of Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim. Around midnight, a man named Rahimi Osman came to the room and gave his statement.

Transport Ministry probes bus crash which claimed 12 lives

SEREMBAN, Oct 11 – The transport ministry has launched a probe into a horrific road crash involving two buses, van and two cars at the 223km of the North-South Expressway near the Simpang Ampat toll plaza, which claimed 12 lives yesterday.Transport Minister Datuk Seri Kong Cho Ha said he had instructed the Road Transport Department (RTD), Road Safety Department (RSD) and Malaysian Institute of Road Safety Research (Miros) to carry out the probe.“The express bus involved in the accident is new and was registered in 2007. Initial investigations revealed that the bus had also undergone regular inspections at Puspakom, with the latest being in May.“However, we will conduct further investigation on the bus’ steering and brake system,” he told reporters after visiting survivors of the crash at Tuanku Jaafar Hospital here today.

Lee Kuan Yew – a different man without her

IN A grieving eulogy at his wife’s funeral, Minister Mentor Lee Kuan Yew said in a tone that was at times hardly audible: “Without her I would be a different man, with a different life... At this moment of the final parting, my heart is heavy with sorrow and grief.”Kwa Geok Choo, a pillar of his life for 62 years, passed away last Saturday at age 89 after being bedridden and unable to speak or move for two years.Three days before her demise, Lee himself was admitted to hospital for a chest infection after a fall while on a visit to Moscow. His words “without her I would be a different man” evidently referred to the past, but under the circumstances, they may well be applied to the present.

The lengthy sodomy trial against opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim took yet another twist on Wednesday when his lawyers were accused of having a hand in two dubious statutory declarations implicating Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak and his wife in the ongoing trial.In his police report, Anwar's former aide Rahimi Osman said that he was forced to do so by PKR lawyers Latheefa Koya and Saiful Izham Ramli.The little-known 25-year-old, worked for Anwar from 2007 to 2008. In an interview yesterday, Latheefa, who is also PKR information chief, traced the events surrounding the signing of the two refuted declarations, beginning on June 28, 2008.

Files removed from Sosilawati murder suspect's legal firm

BANTING: Hundreds of files were removed from the legal firm of the main suspect in the murders of cosmetics millionaire Sosilawati Lawiya and three others, here, today. The files were loaded into a two-tonne lorry by three workers including the driver watched by several police officers and policemen.Reporters and photographers noticed this about 3.30pm when they stopped for a drink at a nearby restaurant opposite the Kuala Langat police district headquarters.More than an hour later, the lorry carrying the files left for an unknown destination.

TNB face off with villagers again, three held

Chaos again erupted at Rawang New Village as Tenaga Nasional Bhd (TNB) workers began construction work on high tension cable towers in the area. Backed by about 50 police personnel, about a dozen TNB workers appeared at the village unannounced and began work at about 9am. According to eyewitnesses, the TNB workers were trying to fill up a trench to allow heavy machinery to reach the site. This prompted scores of villagers to stop them from doing so and a fracas broke out.

Kuil diroboh, penduduk kecewa dengan DAP

SERI KEMBANGAN: Penganut Hindu sekitar Taman Bukit Serdang berasa marah dan kecewa dengan DAP kerana gagal bertindak sebelum Pejabat Tanah Daerah Petaling memusnahkan sebuah kuil. Pada pukul 9.00 pagi hari ini, dengan arahan daripada pengarah pejabat tanah daerah Petaling, sekumpulan penguatkuasa dan polis terdiri daripada lebih 60 orang memusnahkan Kuil Sri Maha Perchai Vada Bathra Kaliamman Alayam di Seksyen 5, Taman Bukit Serdang.Ketika dihubungi, pengerusi jawatankuasa sementara kuil, B Gopalan merakamkan perasaan kecewa.Beliau mengakui walaupun insiden ini berlaku bukan atas arahan DAP tetapi pada masa yang kelewatan DAP bertindak dalam isu ini adalah antara satu punca utama kuil ini di roboh.

Samy declines advisory role, free-for-all in the offing

KUALA LUMPUR: Long-serving MIC president S Samy Vellu's refusal to accept the role of party adviser after his planned retirement in January could lead to a free-for-all in the party.Party sources say Samy Vellu's open declaration yesterday that he would neither interfere in the running of the 63-year-old MIC nor assume the post of party adviser, would set the stage for the scramble for positions in the party.A party source told FMT that it was only natural that leaders start "their political game" to fill up positions that would eventually fall vacant after Samy Vellu's retirement.

Samy’s exit sparks Subra-Palani rivalry

KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 5 — MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has only just announced he is stepping down next year, but the fight to take the lead and become party spokesperson has already started between deputy president and successor Datuk G. Palanivel and senior vice-president Datuk Dr S. Subramaniam.While Dr Subramaniam and his supporters like vice-president Datuk S. K. Devamani and Datuk S. Saravanan lament Samy Vellu’s impending departure as a big loss for the party and the Indian community, Palanivel has maintained a stony silence.

Keng Yaik may have felt 'irrelevant'

Former Gerakan president Dr Lim Keng Yaik is quitting his position as party adviser because he was not consulted on the leadership crisis in Penang.As a senior leader, he is said to have been slighted that his opinion was not considered relevant any more by the party, especially by his handpicked successor Koh Tsu Koon.Lim, who said he would be sending in his resignation letter today, had once declared Koh as his "trump card" and was pleased to see the latter succeed him as party chief in 2007.

MIC wants two minister posts, says veep

SEPANG, Oct 3 — MIC vice-president Datuk S. Subramaniam insisted today the party should get two ministerial posts, signalling his intentions of not relinquishing his job once Senator Datuk G. Palanivel is announced as the party’s interim president. Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu recently announced that he will step down as MIC president in January after leading the party since 1979.However, with Palanivel as party president, leaders within MIC are pressuring Subramaniam to forfeit his post as the human resource minister.

Samy's exit: Start of a new era or a new nightmare?

MIC president Samy Vellu’s announcement that he would step down in January next year was greeted with sighs of relief especially within the Indian community, but even so, few are willing to celebrate just yet.Not only because the 74-year old leader has been known to change his mind before, there were also fears that he might still control the party behind the scenes.Or that his successor, deputy president G Palanivel, might continue the same sort of iron-fisted rule and policies that have been blamed for turning off many young intellectuals from joining the MIC.