Anti-Samy protesters: We'll be back
A group of people who had planned a protest against MIC president S Samy Vellu were thwarted from marching to his house in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
A group of people who had planned a protest against MIC president S Samy Vellu were thwarted from marching to his house in Kuala Lumpur this afternoon.
Some 50 police officers including Light Strike Force personnel cordoned off both entrances of the road leading to the house in Jalan Ipoh, discouraging the protesters.
The organisers had planned to submit a memorandum objecting to Samy Vellu's proposed takeover of the Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED) and Asian Institute of Medicine, Science and Technology University (Aimst) when he steps down.
"We had to cancel because there were too many police there... but we will be back with the memorandum another day," said protest organiser S Murali when contacted by Malaysiakini.
Murali, once a close acquaintance of Samy Vellu, said the group - believed to comprise former supporters - had gathered at a nearby location beforehand.
They then decided not to proceed because of the presence of police, who pulled out of the area after almost three hours.
Malaysiakini had previously quoted former MIED chief executive officer P Chithirakala Vasu as alleging that Samy Vellu wants to "take the party's successful ventures with him", and leave behind an empty shell for his intended successor G Palanivel.
‘They are mine'
Since then, Samy Vellu has come under fire from various groups who have accused him of wanting to take away MIC's only profit-making ventures when these have succeeded by virtue of public and private donations.
Media reports generally describe MIED as the education arm of the MIC and Aimst as a MIC-owned university.
The veteran party boss, however, continues to insist that there are no links between MIC and MIED and Aimst.
He has claimed that MIED and Aimst are NGOs that he had set up in his personal capacity and, as such, do not belong to the party.
"(This was) when the (Dr) Mahathir (Mohamad) government excluded the Indian community from the mainstream and MIC could not do anything about this. Just because I happen to be MIC president, it does not mean MIED and Aimst belong to MIC," he had said.
