'Pakatan to blame for Buah Pala fiasco' - Malaysiakini

MIC president S Samy Vellu today said the Penang Pakatan Rakyat government must assume full responsibility for the plight of Kampung Buah Pala villagers who face eviction on Aug 3.

He said MIC had checked and discovered that the problem involving the sale of the village for development - which resulted in the villagers being forced to evict - only surfaced after DAP secretary-general Lim Guan Eng became chief minister.

"They (Pakatan) are playing the blame game now," he told reporters after chairing the party's central working committee meeting at the MIC headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.

He said Pakatan leaders such as Opposition Leader Anwar Ibrahim had made many promises to the villagers during the 2008 general election.

Among them was to give the land back to the villagers if Pakatan was voted into power.

"But all those promises have gone with the wind... Anwar now has no time to talk about the issue," he added.

DCM gets a bashing

Samy Vellu also lashed out at Penang Deputy Chief Minister II Prof P Ramasamy for failing to solve the Kampung Buah Pala issue.

"He talks a lot but this is not reflected in his work. His talk is big but his actions are small. I don't know if he even considers himself an Indian. He should step down," added the president.

Responding to a question, the veteran politician said he would intervene in problems "for Indians anywhere in the world."

"Not only Kampung Buah Pala, we'll even go to the Andaman islands if need be," he added.

He however refused to comment on the ruckus that took place outside the MIC building this morning between a group of Pakatan Rakyat-led Maika Holdings' shareholders and MIC supporters.

Subra blamed for Maika's woes

At an earlier press conference, Samy Vellu's son and Maika Holdings chief executive officer Vell Paari asked if the Penang state government can resolve the Kampung Buah Pala issue.

"I can provide conditional assurance that the Maika Holdings issue would be resolved. Can they do the same to save Kampung Buah Pala?" he asked.

Vell Paari also lashed out at former MIC deputy president S Subramaniam, accusing him of being a stumbling block in resolving Maika's woes.

Maika had planned to sell its cash cow - insurance firm Oversea Capital Assurance Bhd - in order to reimburse its shareholders.

However, this plan hit a brick wall when Nesa Cooperative - linked to Subramaniam - obtained a court injunction against the sale.

"He didn't even raise a finger to resolve this issue from day one in office," said Vell Paari.