The sun is setting on his political career, but MIC president S Samy Vellu will not let up on efforts to champion Tamil schools and survival of the Tamil language .

"I am a Tamilan (Indian) at heart and as such I shall always fight for the rights of the community and ensure the survival of the Tamil language," he said over the weekend.

"I may have lost my parliamentary seat in Sungai Siput (in the 2008 general election) but I have not lost the (political will) to fight for the rights of Tamils."

samy vellu cooperative interview 060709 07 At a dinner following a meet-the- people session organised by the party's Taiping division on Saturday, he said many ask what the MIC has done for the community.

"My answer is: look at our track-record of achievements in Tamil education, motivational measures, and educational courses to ensure that Indian students excel in their UPSR examination."

He went on to outline the party's achievements in building 76 schools nationwide while he was a federal minister.

In many instances, he claimed, the government had only partially financed Tamil schools and that he had to raise funds on his own to ensure the projects were completed.

However, the party has only been able to build about 40 of 72 proposed schools using the RM130 million allocated by premier Najib Abdul Razak's administration.

MIC will approach Najib through its vice-president and Human Resources Minister S Subramaniam, for help in completing the remaining schools.

Samy Vellu brushed aside the idea that emerging Indian political parties will win the community's support, saying that only MIC can protect and unite the community in the long run.