MIC president S Samy Vellu did not restrict any of the Indian non-governmental organisations which met Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi yesterday from airing their views.

His presence during the two-hour special meeting in Putrajaya did not intimidate those who were there, Malaysian Youth Indian Council (MIYC) president A Rajaretnam told Malaysiakini today.

In fact, he said, it was Samy Vellu who initiated the meeting and gave the green light to the invited groups to speak freely.

The MIC president apparently did not speak at the meeting and had merely taken down notes.

On the observation by certain quarters that Samy Vellu’s presence had discouraged some NGOs from speaking frankly, Rajaretnam said: “Not at all, we talked openly about all issues.”

“Before the meeting, he (Samy Vellu) called me and told me to speak freely at the meeting. So I did, I raised issues concerning the Indian youth, such as university intakes and Tamil schools.

“We were free to talk, I asked the prime minister on what is happening to MIC’s proposals regarding the 3% equity target for the Indian community, and he (Abdullah) promised to look into this,” he added.

Umno’s Deepavali ‘blunder’

Rajaretnam said he also questioned Abdullah regarding the ‘blunder’ by Umno in holding its annual general meeting during Deepavali.

The prime minister apologised for this and assured us that such an incident will not recur, he revealed.

“So we (the NGOs) spoke from the bottom of our hearts concerning the problems affecting the community. If some did not speak out, it is their fault. I was not stopped from voicing my views.

“As far as I know, this is the first time that Indian NGOs were given the opportunity to meet with a prime minister.

“Previously, they (the government) always said everything must go through MIC, but for a change, a space was created for us (the NGOs), so it’s your fault if you did not speak,” he said.

Prior to the meeting, observers pointed out that some of the groups invited were linked to MIC and the government.

The meeting, they claimed, would be nothing more than a public relations exercise as the more critical voices from the community were left out.

MIC is our channel

However, Rajaretnam disagreed. He said the meeting was a positive development and he expects more to be held in future.

“The community was well-represented - youth, religious, social and business groups were present at the meeting. It’s a good start.

“We must play along with the system, it’s not about who was there or who wasn’t. It’s not about such differences. It’s the community that must win, its problems must be heard,” he pointed out.

As for the allegation that MIC and its leaders are becoming increasingly irrelevant as far as the Indian community is concerned, Rajaretnam said the Indians have given the mandate to Barisan Nasional (BN).

“It’s BN’s responsibility to care for all races. The community needs a spokesperson and currently MIC is the leading party, so that is our channel,” he added.

The meeting was called following allegations that Indians in Malaysia have been marginalised and the Nov 25 mass rally organised by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) which drew some 30,000 people to the streets in Kuala Lumpur.

On Thursday, five Hindraf leaders - P Uthayakumar, M Manoharan, V Ganabatirau and T Vasantha Kumar - were detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Yesterday, Malaysiakini reported that the Indian NGOs had appealed to Abdullah to review the ISA detention and charge the five in an open court instead.

They also aired their concern over the 31 people charged with the attempted murder of a policeman in relation to the Hindraf rally.