MIC president S Samy Vellu today said the Indian community voted against the Barisan Nasional because they were fed up with the ruling coalition, and not him.
The 73-year-old politician lamented that he was often made the scapegoat for the dismal results in the last general election, which saw MIC nearly being dealt a fatal blow.
“This is a blame that people throw back to me. During my time (as minister and parliamentarian) they said people were fed-up with me (and) that was why the Indian community did not vote for BN.
“It is not that they are fed-up with me. They are fed-up with BN,” stressed Samy Vellu who was defeated in his parliamentary stronghold of Sungai Siput in the March 2008 polls.
Samy Vellu said he could produce “bunches of letters” to prove the effort that was taken. “I am a person who is not afraid to work, I am a person who is not afraid to ask anything that I want.”
On Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's opening speech which took a swipe at him when the premier said leaders should not only be popular in the party but also among the people, Samy Vellu replied: “If you are not popular in your party... how can you become a leader?”
“Everybody was popular until the tragedy came in 2008,” he added, pointing out that he came into power in 1979 and won every election prior to last year's.
If Samy is PM, he would get same applause
Quizzed on the thunderous applause from the delegates for the premier's speech, Samy Vellu made light of the situation, saying one should not read too much into it.
“Najib is different, he is the PM. If Samy Vellu is PM, he will receive the same applause. Do you gauge on applauses?” he added with a smile.
As for the efforts to woo back the Indian community, the MIC president said while many measures are being employed, one important thing should not be forgotten.
“The Indian community was wounded for many years and there was no pragmatic approach by the government to see that what were the problems...
“And now we are very interested to see that something is done (for the community). If we did that five, 10 years or 15 years ago, what has happened today would not have happened,” he said.
Samy Vellu conceded that the government's assistance had come a 'little too late' but pointed out that it was better late than never.
“It is a bit late but it's still good. It indicates that the new PM and government want to have a relook at the Indian problem,” he said.
During the impromptu press conference, Samy Vellu was also quizzed on his ongoing spat with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Among others, he said that he did not realise that the former premier did not like him all these years.
The 73-year-old politician lamented that he was often made the scapegoat for the dismal results in the last general election, which saw MIC nearly being dealt a fatal blow.
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“It is not that they are fed-up with me. They are fed-up with BN,” stressed Samy Vellu who was defeated in his parliamentary stronghold of Sungai Siput in the March 2008 polls.
The MIC lost six out of nine parliamentary seats it contested in the election as well as 12 out of 19 state seats.
The outspoken politician stressed that he was not afraid of stating this fact. “I (will) say right in front of anybody's face,” he told reporters when he visited the media room at the Putra World Trade Centre.
The former works minister, who was the sole Indian representative in the cabinet until last year, said MIC had tried to improve the lot of the Indians but the attempts always hit a brick wall.
“The amount of resolutions that we had pushed, the amount of letters and talking to departments, nothing will materialise. It has been going on year after year,” he added.
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On Prime Minister Najib Abdul Razak's opening speech which took a swipe at him when the premier said leaders should not only be popular in the party but also among the people, Samy Vellu replied: “If you are not popular in your party... how can you become a leader?”
“Everybody was popular until the tragedy came in 2008,” he added, pointing out that he came into power in 1979 and won every election prior to last year's.
If Samy is PM, he would get same applause
Quizzed on the thunderous applause from the delegates for the premier's speech, Samy Vellu made light of the situation, saying one should not read too much into it.
“Najib is different, he is the PM. If Samy Vellu is PM, he will receive the same applause. Do you gauge on applauses?” he added with a smile.
As for the efforts to woo back the Indian community, the MIC president said while many measures are being employed, one important thing should not be forgotten.
“The Indian community was wounded for many years and there was no pragmatic approach by the government to see that what were the problems...
“And now we are very interested to see that something is done (for the community). If we did that five, 10 years or 15 years ago, what has happened today would not have happened,” he said.
Samy Vellu conceded that the government's assistance had come a 'little too late' but pointed out that it was better late than never.
“It is a bit late but it's still good. It indicates that the new PM and government want to have a relook at the Indian problem,” he said.
During the impromptu press conference, Samy Vellu was also quizzed on his ongoing spat with former premier Dr Mahathir Mohamad.
Among others, he said that he did not realise that the former premier did not like him all these years.
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