MIC president S Samy Vellu will speak on the achievements and aspirations of Indian Malaysians on RTM1's ‘Bersama Menteri’ programme tonight.

The hour-long live programme, which will start at 9.30pm, will see the veteran politician fielding questions on the development and success of the Indian community.

According to Bernama, Samy Vellu will also discuss how the Indians must seize the opportunities provided by the government.

“The minister will also touch on the cooperation between the races in Malaysia and the need to strengthen unity,” read the report.

He will also explain the numerous actions and programmes initiated by MIC to upgrade the socio-economic status of the Indian community.

Relationship with the people

The minister is expected to stress on the importance of education as a key factor to achieving success.

Apart from this, Samy Vellu, who has been MIC president for 27 years, will also speak on the current situation in the country and about his relationship with the Indian community.

MIC and its president have been under tremendous pressure in recent weeks following the emergence of a new voice in the community, the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf).

The movement, which has been accused of being extreme and having terrorist links, organised a rally on Nov 25 which drew some 30,000 Indian Malaysians to take to the streets.

It had also accused the government of marginalising the Indians and subjecting them to ethnic cleansing, charges which were denied by both the government and MIC.

Five Hindraf leaders have since been arrested under the Internal Security Act (ISA).

Following this, a group of Indian non-governmental organisations held a meeting with Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi to discuss the problems affecting the community.

Compiling memos, reports

In a related development, Malaysian Hindu Sangam (MHS) president A Vaithilingam, who was one of those who attended last Friday’s meeting, said MHS and almost 70 other organisations are compiling the reports and memoranda sent to the government over many years on problems faced by the community.

“We welcome all organisations concerned on this issue to join forces with us so that a cohesive and immediate plan can be put forward urgently to alleviate the grave concerns of the marginalised segment of the Indian community,” he added in a statement today.

Vaithilingam also thanked the prime minister for taking into consideration the request by the NGOs to drop the attempted murder charge against 31 people held in connection with the Hindraf rally.

The attorney-general withdrew the charge on Monday.

On the same note, the MHS president reiterated the NGOs’ appeal to the prime minister to reconsider the ISA detention of the five Hindraf leaders.

“We anxiously await the release of the 5 detainees under the ISA who should not be deprived of their right to a trial,” he said.