KUALA LUMPUR, Oct 4 — Former MIC deputy president Datuk S. Subramaniam has come out guns ablazing by vowing today to fight to the end any attempt by his rival, the MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu, to “hijack” the MIED and turn it into a NGO headed by himself.
The MIED, worth RM1 billion, is the property of the MIC which was set up for the benefit of the Indian community, he said. He has refuted an October 2 statement by Samy Vellu that there is no connection between MIED (Maju Institute of Educational Development) and the MIC.
“If this happens it is blatant hijacking,” Subramaniam told reporters at a press conference in his Section 16 Petaling Jaya house. “I will oppose it to the very end. I will take any and all measures to stop this hijacking,” Subramaniam said.
Samy Vellu had said he plans to place the MIED, which owns the multi-million ringgit AIMST University, as well as other NGOs he had established, under a foundation to be chaired by him and other individuals, including foreigners.
The report quoted Samy Vellu as saying: “Both — MIED and AIMST — are NGOs set up by me in my personal capacity when the (Tun Dr Mohamad) Mahathir government excluded the Indian community from the mainstream and MIC could not do anything about this.”
“Just because I happened to be MIC president, it does not mean MIED and AIMST belong to MIC,” said Samy Vellu.
Samy Vellu said he would spend “all his time” with the NGOs including MIED and AIMST after he steps down as MIC president “before his term ends in 2012.”
Soon after the press conference Samy Vellu issued a four paragraph press statement that did not mention MIED nor deny his statement saying MIC and MIED were not connected.
His statement below is reproduced in full:
“I refer to the allegations made by the defeated MIC Deputy Presidential candidate Dato’ S. Subramaniam against me over the issue of the Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED) and AIMST University at a news conference today.
Since his defeat in the September 12 MIC Elections in the hands of MIC Deputy President, YB Dato’ G.Palanivel, he (Dato’ S.Subramaniam) has appeared to have lost his mind and has launched a series of verbal attacks against the MIC and my leadership in a bid to tarnish the good name of the party and its members, not to mention my leadership.
As per his allegations against me and the MIC at his news conference today, I have already instructed my lawyer to file a case against him (Dato’ S.Subramaniam) in the Court for defaming me. I do not wish to comment further, except to say let him prove if there were such thoughts in my mind in the Court.”
Subramaniam listed today numerous reasons why MIED is and has always been the education arm of the MIC and not an NGO set-up by Samy Vellu.
He said MIED was registered in 1994 as a company limited by guarantee and its members, subscribers and directors have always been senior MIC leaders.
MIED has always been represented in MIC annual reports, in MIC AGMs and to the public as a MIC owned education venture.
MIC-owned assets, such as Vanto Academy, were transferred to MIED with full knowledge and understanding that MIC was the owner of MIED.
Monies raised for construction of various education institutes including AIMST were from the public and government and announced as ventures of the MIC.
The crown in the proposed foundation that Samy Vellu hopes to take with him into retirement is the AIMST University, which Subramaniam said is worth RM1 billion on its own.
Subramanian said the objective of MIED was to monitor and manage all of MIC’s education activities including AIMST.
“As MIED founder member I will fight to ensure the party’s and community’s assets are not hijacked by any individual,” Subramaniam said.
He said he did the concept paper for MIED, raised funds along with MIC branches and division for MIED and AIMST.
“Every MIC member leader in one way or other has contributed to making AIMST a reality,” Subramaniam. “It is a collective achievement of the MIC as a whole and not an accomplishment of any individual.”
Subramaniam urged the community to rise and unite to save what’s theirs before it is lost.
He also urged MIED directors, most of them allied with Samy Vellu, to do their duty and speak up to save the party’s and community’s assets.
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Samy Vellu's MIED claims could benefit Pakatan in Bagan Pinang vote
By Baradan Kuppusamy PORT DICKSON, Oct 4 — MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu may have given Pakatan Rakyat (PR) its best weapon yet to win over the 2,800 Indian voters in Bagan Pinang who are playing kingmakers in a tight contest.
An October 3 statement by Samy Vellu that there is no connection between MIC and MIED — which was always understood to be the MIC’s education arm — has shocked the Indian community and sparked a furore, with his political rivals and others all rising to condemn Samy Vellu.
The PR campaign has seized on the issue as campaign fodder against Umno, whose candidate in Bagan Pinang Tan Sri Mohd Isa Abdul Samad is facing Negri Sembilan PAS chief Zulkefly Mohamad Omar in a straight fight.
The Indian votes are important because PAS had a majority of votes in all five saluran or voting streams in the constituency that had predominantly Indian voters like in Bradwell and Atherthon estates.
Umno won in all voting streams where Malay voters are in the majority — a situation that leaves Umno to woo Indian voters, who are still smarting from alleged marginalization and discrimination, if it wants to increase its winning majority.
There is a danger that more Indian votes could flee to PAS, if PR intelligently exploits the issue, because of the furore that has been sparked by Samy Vellu’s statement that MIED is independent of MIC.
The Indian public is outraged by the statement because huge amounts of cash were raised from the Indian poor for the MIC’s education efforts.
In addition the government gave millions of ringgit in cash for the building and management of the educational institutions that all came under the MIED umbrella.
Indian voters are somewhat taken up with the actions of Prime Minister Datuk Seri Najib Razak since he became Prime Minister in April and the promises he has made to right the wrongs in good time.
But these warming up to Najib is at risk as realisation sets in that the Indian public has been, in the words of a former MIC vice-president, “taken for a ride” over the MIED matter.
The October 2 report which made the front pages of the Tamil newspapers quoted Samy Vellu as saying there were no links between MIED and AIMST University.
The report quoted Samy Vellu as saying: “Both — MIED and AIMST — are NGOs set up by me in my personal capacity when the (Tun Dr Mohamad) Mahathir government excluded the Indian community from the mainstream and MIC could not do anything about this.”
Just because I happened to be MIC president, it does not mean MIED and AIMST belong to MIC,” said Samy Vellu.
Samy Vellu said he would spend “all his time” with the NGOs including MIED and AIMST after he steps down as MIC president “before his term ends in 2012.”
The report said that he was expected to bring all the NGOs headed by him into a foundation headed by a board of trustees of prominent and international non-politicians including representatives among non-Indians.
Samy Vellu's chief rival Datuk S Subramaniam however accused him of telling lies by claiming there was no link between MIC and MIED, which is said to be worth RM1 billion.
“I am shocked at this blatant lie,” he said when contacted today. “He cannot bury the truth just like that. Don’t cheat the Indian community.”
“AIMST, MIED and MIC are all intractably linked,” Subramaniam said. “The MIC and Indian community are worried.”
MIED was started in 1989 and the first funds were raised with MIC members by selling lottery tickets.
The MIED report was always tabled at the MIC CWC meetings since 1980, said a MIC CWC member who declined to be named.
He added that MIED was always introduced as the “education arm” of the MIC.
MIC members were mobilised to support MIED, he said, adding that Samy Vellu negotiated with the government to get cash aid and land at premium by arguing MIED was part of MIC.
“For him to say the two are not related is a blatant lie,” he said.
Samy Vellu’s son Vel Paari has written in the Tamil Nesan today that MIED is separate from MIC because MIC is not allowed to own business entities.
“It is the same with other political parties,” he said accusing Subramaniam of making an issue out of something that was “clearly different” and not connected.
Subramaniam is expected to come out in the open fighting over the issue that is so emotive that Indian voters in Bagan Pinang, where Samy Vellu is campaigning, may be enraged.
Now that his feud with Umno over his retirement plans are well known, MIC leaders are wondering whether it is an accident that Samy Vellu has raised such an emotive issue just days before the by-election.
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