Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email SMS number three just received…saying Pandithan has passed away 3 days ago and body is kept in ice box. Looks like another rumour. MK reports that he is alive, but the day is near.
Pandithan is still alive, says IPF
http://malaysiakini.com/news/79326
K Kabilan | Mar 7, 08 2:15pm
Indian Progressive Front leaders today strongly denied rumours that party founder and president MG Pandithan is dead. They said that Pandithan, who has been diagnosed with blood leukemia and has been seriously ill for over a year, was still taking treatment at the Kuala Lumpur Hospital.
“Not true at all. He is fine,” said party deputy president V Senggutuan when contacted today. He added that the rumours, being spread via the short message services (SMSes), were done by irresponsible people to destabilise the party, which has already been rocked by infighting and factionalism.
He said that Pandithan was still under close observation at the hospital. “He is definitely not dead. We will surely tell you if something like that happens,” he added. Other party leaders also echoed Senggutuan by stating that their president was still alive, while admitting that he was fighting for his life.
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Pandithan’s relatives also confirmed that he was on a life-support system. “If you are asking if he can walk about and talk, the answer is surely no. He can’t do that. But he is still aware of what’s happening around him,” said his niece who only wanted to be known as Mrs Raju. She added that Pandithan had two tubes in his throat and was on a milk diet. “He is also undergoing dialysis every other day,” she said.
Malaysiakini also spoke to an individual who visited Pandithan ward this morning. “I was curious after receiving the SMS, so I made a quick visit. No one was by his bed site when I went. “He was still breathing but looked very, very frail. He is not dead but I am sure he is counting his days,” said the eye-witness who refused to be named.
Why such secrecy?
A leader of an IPF splinter group K Panjamoorthy however is quite upset over the secrecy in revealing Pandithan’s condition. “Why can’t the party leadership just issue a press statement to clarify the situation or to brief everyone on Pandithan’s status?” he asked. He said that such a move could avoid all form of misinformation regarding Pandithan.
Rumours about Pandithan’s death has been circulating for some days now, hitting a frenzy today. The SMSes stated that he died on Thursday and that his death was being kept under wraps so that party workers would not be distracted from campaigning for the BN.
Plug to be pulled?
Others also say that Pandithan is actually brain dead and that the plugs would be pulled after the general election tomorrow. Party leaders dispute this with some claiming that Pandithan’s death would not have an impact on the elections. Pandithan formed the IPF in 1990 after he was sacked from MIC following a fall out with the party president S Samy Vellu. He was a MIC vice-president when he was sacked. The long standing enmity between the two however ended in July 2007 when they publicly hugged and cried over Pandithan’s health condition. They then said that it was time for them – and their parties – to work together for the sake of the community. Most recently, about two weeks ago, Pandithan issued a statement to the Tamil media, supporting Samy Vellu to continue leading the Indian community.
