I agree with Samy Vellu that the lawmakers who voted the bill should have consulted the members of the co-operative movement.

At the same time I am puzzled as to why the passage of the bill was not monitored by MIC MPs and why the issues of contention in the bill were not brought to the attention of the public earlier?

Were MIC MPs not in parliament when the bill was debated and passed? MPs, who are elected representatives of the people, are duty-bound to read all the bills thoroughly and bring up any controversial issues and/or anomalies for a proper review and debate before the bills are passed by the parliament.

In this case, Samy Vellu should ask MPs from his party to explain as to how the Malaysia Co-operative Commission (MCC) and the Malaysia Co-operative Societies Act 2007 were passed with draconian powers and which does not augur well for the continued growth of the co-operative movement in Malaysia.

Samy Vellu has also rightfully pointed out that the membership of the MCC does not reflect the multi-racial composition of the country.

Incidentally, it will be interesting to know the racial composition of membership of other government authorities such as the Securities Commission and the Companies Commission Malaysia (CCM). Can someone provide information on this?