WikiLeaks: Samy to blame for BN’s 2008 debacle

PETALING JAYA: Former MIC president S Samy Vellu cost Barisan Nasional its victory in the 2008 general election, according to Internet whistleblower WikiLeaks.

In a meeting with former US ambassador to Singapore Patricia Herbold on March 12, 2008, Singaporean Permanent Secretary of Foreign Affairs Peter Ho Hak Ean said that Samy Vellu’s neglect of the Indian community led to BN’s losses in the election.

“The MIC’s Samy Vellu bears a large share of the responsibility for the BN’s poor showing in the election,” the WikiLeaks cable said.

“The Indian community’s unhappiness, which helped create the current political dynamic in Malaysia, reflects the fact that Samy Vellu neglected the interests of the Indian community, even when its temples were being destroyed, focusing instead on his business activities in India,” it said.

This statement is in contrast with Samy Vellu’s defence of BN in 2008, where he said that all political parties in the ruling coalition were to blame.

Samy Vellu also tried to shift much of the blame on former Selangor menteri besar Dr Khir Toyo for destroying Hindu temples in Selangor.

The WikiLeaks cables were made available through online Hong Kong-based news portal Asia Sentinel. However, Asia Sentinel did not reveal how it came by these cables.

Meanwhile, the cable also said that Umno Youth chief Khairy Jamaluddin would find himself in political trouble, because of his ties with former prime minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.

“The political knives will be out for Abdullah’s son-in-law, Umno politician Khairy Jamaluddin, whom nobody likes because he got where he is through family ties,” the cable said.

“Abdullah is probably done for politically, despite having been sworn in again as PM on March 10. Former PM Mahathir Mohamad will keep throwing stones at Abdullah,” it continued.

This coincided with the rise of current Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak, whom the cable described as an “opportunist”. It added: “Although he has not been critical of Singapore, he will not hesitate to go in that direction if it is expedient for him to do so.”