Samy to quit in January

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president S Samy Vellu said he would relinquish his post next January and pave the way for his deputy G Palanivel to take over."Today, I am officially announcing my decision to step down and pass the leadership to my deputy in January next year," he said.Samy Vellu was speaking to reporters after chairing the MIC Central Working Committee meeting at the party headquarters here.The 74-year-old politician, who had helmed the party for three decades, said that he had announced his decision to the CWC earlier.

Samy Vellu lays red carpet for own exit

KUALA LUMPUR, Sept 30 — MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu is working to ensure his lasting legacy and has set off on a nationwide charm offensive, even as the curtain begins to fall on his three-decade long tenure as the party’s president.A new and glowing book; a grand 10,000-attendee dinner on December 18 at the Mines Convention Centre, with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak possibly in attendance; and an expected new posting as Special Envoy for South Asia are among the highlights of the grand sent off.
“It will be a night to remember,” an MIC leader said. “The book is about the ‘Legend of Samy Vellu’.”If it all goes well even a Tunship may be in the offing, MIC sources added.

Guilty in a court of press

KUALA LUMPUR: When news of their arrests broke, the media had painted the town red with extensive coverage and photographs of the suspects, especially of the alleged mastermind. The prominent lawyer, his brother and six others were detained for the murders of millionaires Sosilawati Lawiya and three others. Their bodies were torched and the ashes and bones strewn into a river in Banting.The police claimed that the brothers could be responsible for a spate of murders, including that of a well-heeled Indian national. However, they had yet to charge them.

Deputy minister ordered to settle RM1.6 mil debt

M Saravanan, now Federal Territories deputy minister, has been ordered to pay RM1.6 million to VPN Marketing Sdn Bhd to settle an outstanding payment.The Kuala Lumpur High Court also ordered Project Penyelenggara Lebuhraya Bhd (Propel) to pay an additional RM690,000 to the company, for breach of contract in the supply of guard railings for the North-South Expressway among others.The decision was made in chambers today by Justice Anantham Kasinater.Two witnesses from VPN Marketing and another two from Propel had testified during the trial.Saravanan (right) was sued in his personal capacity, before he was made deputy minister, after his company RMW Manufacturing Bhd - of which he was manager and director - wound up.

Temple site a health hazard

The Human Rights Party Malaysia (HRP) warns that the move by the Selangor state government to allocate land to rebuild the Padang Jawa Kuil Sri Maha Mairiamman below a Telekom tower, will endanger the lives of the priests and devotees.It considers the tower a health hazard.The Selangor Pakatan state government had recently allocated 15,000 square feet of land for the temple after BN had demolished it in 2007.
HRP pro-tem secretary-general P Uthayakumar said: "From our records, forcing a place of worship under a Telco tower has never been done before in any other part of the world.

Samy: Protector Najib will save us from racist parasites

KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president S Samy Vellu has proposed a simple method to deal with racist individuals – ignore them. The veteran politician also expressed much faith in Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak and his 1Malaysia concept to shield Malaysians from such “parasites”.“Normally, parasites will be exterminated once they are identified, but in this case, since this kind of parasites are very rare, we can opt to ignore them as they will not pose a major threat to society.“They are what we call the minority parasites. It is just the views of one individual,” he said.

PM to host special dinner for online friends Nov 4

Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak will host a special dinner for his online friends at Seri Perdana, Putrajaya on Nov 4.He said the dinner function scheduled to start at 8pm, was organised following the success of the tea party he hosted in March for his online friends to get to know them and have a dialogue with them."Earlier this year, I had the pleasure of hosting a special event for my online friends, and I had stated that there would be more of such events to come."I am happy to announce the next event, which will take place on the evening of 4th November, details of which can be found here. Registration for an invitation is now open, and I encourage you to sign up and be a part of the event," he said in his blog today.