Subscribe in a reader | Subscribe by Email Well, after Syed Hamis insulted Gerakan indirectly by saying government will not listen to political parties when asked about releasing the 5 Hindraf ISA detainees, Samy Vellu throws his weight and asks the government to release 4 out of the 5 detainees. He specifically mentions that one of the is sick while another has been elected as assemblyman. 2 others are not much involved in the rally organisation. He did not mention about Uthayakumar.
So far the comments I’ve got from fellow Indians is “cheap publicity seeking”. A person who was vehemently condemning HINDRAF and its leaders, is now asking them to be freed. Easy for him to say since he is not in the cabinet. Can make more noise la!
He mentions that he will meet PM, Syed Hamid, and Musa Hassan. Whether they got time to meet him or not…
And the reason he wants to get the 2 guys released is because their wives approached him for help. Well, one should not wait for people to ask for help. That is what I learnt.
Its very clear that this is cheap trick indeed. For over 3 months, there were no “fairness” or “sympathy” or “we being Indians must do something” crap. And suddenly, MIC (or is it just Samy) had realised that they must do something.
But wait, this statement came after launching the rebranding MIC workshop. Maybe he wanted to preempt any request from division leaders to release the detainees.
Well, he can continue his drama, as long as the detainees get released. But don’t ever think MIC will win back the support by doing so.
Release Hindraf 5, says Samy … yes, you read that right!
KUALA LUMPUR: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu has urged the government to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders who are being detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA).
He said two of the leaders — R. Kenghadaran, 40, who is very sick and M. Manoharan, 46, who had won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Selangor on a DAP ticket on March 8 — should be freed sooner. He said another two, V. Ganabatirau, 34, and K. Vasantha Kumar, 34, had not been very much involved in the rally organised by Hindraf in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 last year. The fifth leader being detained under the ISA is P. Uthayakumar.
Speaking to reporters after opening a workshop on “Rebranding the MIC” here Sunday, Samy Vellu said the wives of Kenghadaran and Manoharan had approached him for his assistance.
“I have decided to raise it with the government. I will raise it (the issue of their release) with Prime Minister Datuk Seri Abdullah Ahmad Badawi after he returns from Sabah. “I will also meet Home Minister Datuk Seri Syed Hamid Albar and Inspector General of Police Tan Sri Musa Hassan. I have already made some moves on this earlier but I did not tell anyone. I will now make a firm move to see what can be done by the government with regard to their plight,” Samy Vellu claimed.
He said Ganabatirau, and Vasantha Kumar were “not very much involved (in the rally), so the government has to make a decision.”
Samy Vellu claimed that this was not a publicity stunt or a move to win back Indian support for the party. “This is done in fairness, sympathy and, also, we feel that we as Indians have to do something about it. It is not a publicity stunt,” he said.
Samy Vellu said that he was harshly criticised by certain people when he spoke to Abdullah and the Attorney General about reducing the attempted murder charges against the 31 people detained during the Hindraf rally, but he had continued to assist them.
Samy calls for Hindraf 5’s release
RK Anand | Mar 30, 08 12:14pm
http://www.malaysiakini.com/news/80593
In a dramatic about-turn, MIC president S Samy Vellu today called for the release of the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders held without trial under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The veteran politician said he will meet Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi soon to discuss this matter.
He also urged Hindraf chairperson P Waythamoorthy – who is currently in London on self-exile – to return to the country and be reunited with his family, saying that the latter should not be a political refugee.
Samy Vellu was speaking to reporters after opening the MIC divisional leaders workshop at the party’s headquarters in Kuala Lumpur.
The Hindraf leaders detained under the security law are Waythamoorthy’s brother, Uthayakumar, V Ganabatirau, M Manoharan, T Vasantha Kumar and R Kengadharan. The five – four of whom are lawyers – were arrested shortly after organising a mammoth street rally in Kuala Lumpur which drew some 30,000 people on Nov 25 last year.
Approached by detainees’ families
Samy Vellu revealed that the families of Manoharan and R Kengadharan had approached him for assistance. “Because they made an approach, I will talk to the PM (about securing their freedom),” he said, adding, “We also don’t want them to be kept inside.
“The government has to make a decision. Kenghadharan is very sick, Manoharan is an elected member. So I think it is quite reasonable. I am going to ask PM (to release them) and meet the Internal Security Minister (Syed Hamid Syed Albar).
“I made some moves on this earlier, but I didn’t tell anybody. I will now make a very strong move to see what can be done,” he added
Manoharan won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Selangor under a DAP ticket in the March 8 elections.
In the past, Samy Vellu had been critical of Hindraf and the Nov 25 demonstration. The movement, in return, also accused MIC and its party boss of failing to uplift the status of the Indian community.
Not a publicity stunt
Responding to a question, Samy Vellu denied that the move to call for the five’s release was a publicity stunt. Describing it as being motivated by “fairness”, he said: “At the same time, we feel that as Indians, we have to do something about this.”
The MIC president also revealed how he had helped secure the release of four students detained with scores others in the wake of the Hindraf rally. Thirty-one detainees were later charged with the attempted murder of a policeman, but this was subsequently dropped. Samy Vellu said this happened because he spoke to the prime minister and attorney-general Abdul Gani Patail.
“But one of the detainees’ fathers scolded me like hell… (the father said) ‘Who the hell are you?’, ‘Where were you when my son was arrested?’ “He ashamed me, it was very unreasonable. But I didn’t take it to mind, as long as the students were released and the (attempted murder) charge against the others was reduced,” he added.
The MIC president said “many had argued for them because they want publicity.” “We only want the truth,” he said.
Samy Vellu calls for release of Hindraf leaders
BERNAMA
source
KUALA LUMPUR, Sun.:
MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu today asked the government to release the five Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) leaders under detention, saying two of them should be freed sooner because one was ill and the other was now an elected representative.
He said R. Kenghadaran, 40, “is very sick” and M. Manoharan, 46, had won a seat in the March 8 general election. Manoharan had won the Kota Alam Shah state seat in Selangor on a DAP ticket.
Samy Vellu also said that V. Ganabatirau, 34, and K. Vasantha Kumar, 34, had not been very much involved in the massive rally organised by the unregistered Hindraf in Kuala Lumpur on Nov 25 last year, which was a reason for the five to be detained under the Internal Security Act (ISA). The fifth Hindraf leader under detention is P. Uthayakumar.
The MIC president spoke at a news conference after opening a workshop on “Rebranding the MIC” attended by the party’s 150 divisional leaders, here.
He said Ganabatirau, and Vasantha Kumar were “not very much involved (in the rally), so the government has to make a decision.”
The MIC supremo also said that his asking the government to release the five Hindraf leaders was not for publicity or a move to win back Indian support for the party, touted to be the largest Indian-based political party in the country. “This is done in fairness, sympathy and, also, we feel that we as Indians have to do something about it. It is not a publicity stint,” he said.
He said that though the party had received harsh criticism from certain quarters for failing to safeguard the welfare of Indians in the country, it would continue to do what it can on matters concerning the community. “If they (those detained) go ahead with the advice of their lawyers, many things could happen. They should not simply be attracted to those people who want to argue for them. Many people like to argue for them so that they can get publicity. We don’t want the publicity, we want the truth,” the MIC chief said.
The Hindraf leaders were detained in December last year. Hindraf had also made several claims, which had been described as preposterous by most people and which were subsequently denied by the authorities. Hindraf also submitted a memorandum containing various baseless accusations to the British High Commission here. The five Hindraf leaders were detained under the ISA after the authorities found that they had touched on sensitive religious and racial issues and had made seditious statements against the government.
Manoharan has become the third ISA detainee to contest and win a seat in a general election. Chan Kok Kit and Chian Heng Khai contested the Sungai Besi (Selangor) and Batu Gajah (Perak) parliamentary seats, respectively, on a DAP ticket in 1978 and won.
So the man was waiting for someone to approach him to help get the ISA detainees released !?
If we all fall for this (which he says is not a stunt) we are all suckers!
If SV can divide the 5 detainees he can also divide us all up and Rule Again!
We sure want those 5 detainees released but I am sure we should not give
any credit to SV for their release. He probably knows that the BN govt cannot keep them in for too long anyway and pretends he can do something now!
Why are we still reading or even analysing stuff about the MIC la???? They clearly are not worth our time.
Lets look at other means of making our time more constructive.
Dear Thamilan are you nuts ?
It takes a very big man to make such a call and it shows that at the end of the day MIC will be there when the thieves and opportunists of PKR/DAP/PAS had abandoned the Indians.
If you noticed, the wives of the detainees actually met Samy to ask for his help. It shows that even the wives realised that only MIC can help their husbands. This shows that HINDRAF/Makkal Sakthi can do NOTHING.
Where are the people whom you voted ? Why are they not making the call or fighting for HINDRAF 5 release ? DAP started a campaign before the GE to free these guys but now it all gone and no one talks about it at all.
You can accuse MIC all sort of things but at least they are trying to do something rather than the hypocrites of PAS/DAP/PKR.
We know Samy Vellu’s stand on HINDRAF before GE12. If BN had obtained their 2/3 rd majority and all MIC leaders had won their seats comfortably in the election, it is my belief that Samy Vellu would not have lifted a finger to secure the release of the 5 HINDRAF leaders.
Nonetheless, we should not condemn his initiative in trying to get the release of the 5 HINDRAF leaders in detention. Any and every initiative taken by anyone to secure their release is to be welcomed.
In the first place, their detention was politically motivated. The original accusation, made by the AG and the IGP, that they had Tamil Tiger connections were denied by Samy Vellu himself when he was in India. He had said that they were merely suspected to have such connections.
The BN government should charge the 5 leaders in open court with whatever charges and let the legal process take place. We are not living in an Emergency or War situation to warrant such ISA detentions without trials.
it’s politics …. it’s all politcs ….. even in open court politics can make use of the law . a good example was the false attempted murder charge agaisnt lay Indians captured in Batu Caves …..
H5 are innocent ….. their devotion and Makkal prayers made BN lose 5 States.
Balan , you are right. If MIC got the mandate last MArch8 , our SV could not even remember the H5 . Again it’s politics .
BR used makkal sakthi to gain power . Now having some scuffle internally . Again it’s politics .
In politics , we need to make use of each other to gain something . Cant deny this wherever place in the world .
We would rather believe in rookie BR than the old ever corrupted parties in BN.
WE MADE THE RIGHT CHOICE !
We have to fight thru our life (being a monority) . That’s why we need our hindraf brothers to be released .
Dont expect golden spoon feeding from BR . It will not happen . Except God no one is fair .
WE HAVE TO FIGHT FOR OUR RIGHTS ALONG THE WAY !
Nanda,
IF MIC is sincere in changing for the better, the community must play its part and give a helping hand. like it or not, MIC has been part and parcel of the indian community in all spheres of life since independence, both the good and the bad, and the middle ground.
currently, affter MS, MIC is the second most powerful indian voice in the country. if it could be harnessed for better use, why not? the community must make use of MIC, not the the way around anymore.
that’s my opinion, of course.
The MIC (as Poobalan has pointed out ) may have a relevant role i.e. if it can be rescued from the present mob which sits in its leadership. As I have mentioned before it does look like SV and those indebted to him will take the MIC to its grave and give it a burial. However it will be good if the grassroots (not tainted by SV and his people) will have to rise up from the branches and divisions and take over the MIC.
On the other matter on who to believe -SV or the wives of the detainees – I will certainly not take SVs words as the truth. We have known him to be not to be truthful with the community in the past. There has always been some poverty in what he used to peddle as “truth”.
The 5 who held under the draconian ISA (which SV supported when in power) have done more to galvanise and bring to a focus and eventually into the open (what most of us discussed in whispers in the past). The longer the BN keeps these 5 selfless in Kamunting the more they help us to keep us together. We have the odd person who still supports SV and his hierarchy but on the whole a lot of the cynics have come to realise the importance of what has been achieved by the Hindraf.
We need a few people like Killer contributing to this forum and other forums – it them makes the others realize that we are sane people after all!
madam pushpa clarified she did not see SV, while the other lady said they met SV long time ago. now, who is actually lying? the wives or samy?
Killer , are you an sore loser? an MIC member?
remember, SV was the idiot who kept telling lies, he said if the people vote me out and I will leave, we voted him out, he says we did not vote him out but BN. He said, tell me to get down and I will get down , now nobody is asking him to step down is it??
This snake is trying to hang on to power till he goes to grave.
I will join PAS too
Jenny…you have the right to join PAS or even the Mongolian Marxist Party if you wish to. If you stupid enough to join PAS then you deserve them anyway…
SV is not sticking to his cabinet post or any other official positions. As for MIC position, since you don’t care about them it is none of your concern. If the MIC members feel he has failed, then they can vote him out in the next MIC election.
this is wht MIC all about ….. it started all sort thuggery and now claiming Hindraf as agitators and goondas …….clowns…. who else could do rowdy than mic members ….
just ignore them ….. after March8 , mic is a deadwood…
if you come across anyone whom oppose or hate Hindraf/Makkal Sakthi , he/she would be member of MIC . Know why ? Because only Hindraf exposed all the rubbish that MIC was hiding from the community thus long . No doubt it hurts them .
If you happen to find someone whom dedicated to community service (not dedicated to SV and his son) he/she would support Hindraf/Makkal Sakhti. Why ? Because they know Hindraf had done what should have been done years back .
This is not merely theory , it’s practically what i’ve seen also . Forget about wht MIC doing or saying . Let them bark till exhausted .
We want equality and justice , that’s all . When this is achieved , even MIC members children will be benefited as well .
BE FOCUSED !
Ha ha…VJ your theory is not just wrong but idiotic as well. Well, that is not surprising when it comes from a HINDRAF/Makkal Samadhi supporter anyway…
BTW what have H/MS has accomplished ? A big fat ZERO….! They have divided the Indians, they have sold Indians to the racists of DAP/PKR….
what is your evidence that Indians being sold to DAP/PKR??
anti-killer
Please do come out of that cave and try to read some news on this blog or elsewhere…
btw , indians have been sold to umno long long ago …… how to sell the one that already been sold by rotten mic folks…..
mic is angry about hindraf ….ok . But when melaka CM said dun force us to go down streets with parang to defend ketuanan melayu…….. where were they ?
Hidding behind their wives saree ??? Killer was the first one…
How could mic defend community rights when they cant even open their mouth when comes to umno???
Hello bro
One does not have to take the streets or make press statement to fight for the community’s cause. HINDRAF have done that and now see what they achieved for their trouble, the leaders in jail and the community is worse off.
MIC being a part of BN can’t voice out their concerns openly for they are not playing for gallery or doing a Kollywood movie. Unlike HINDRAF they are not doing this for publicity or self glory.
These issues have been brought up at the appropriate platforms. You are just ignorant. Please do your homework before making unsubstiantated and idiotic statements as such. Newspapers had been carrying the news about the activities of MIC has been doing for the community but I guess you skip these boring bits and go direct to the India and cinema news.
That Indians’ rights have been sold to UMNO is nice to listen and catchy but that cannot be defended or proven. If you disagree with me, can you give me how SV sold off Indians’ right to UMNO ?
The problem with HINDRAF supporters is that you guys like to say things without any logical or factual basis but in an open debate you will get between by MIC as you have nothing to back up your arguments. Up to now I have not seen a single paper or letter that supports HINDRAF’s claims with data and facts. These folks keep harping on same old emotional issues and using lies and half-truths.
Now HINDRAF claimed to have done the right thing by voting this Penyagak Rakyat. But please open your eyes and see the result. Did they achieve what they fought for ? It has barely been a month yet already Indians have been shuffled aside and given a short shift. There is no respect or equality for Indians in PR states at all. In fact they are worse off. HINDRAF you have FAILED Indians.
Killi, take my advice and mark my words. Indians trusted HINDRAF and rejected MIC. But this could change very soon and they will turn on HINDRAF and their supporters too when they realise they have been cheated. Just like HINDRAF attacked MIC, there are people who is ready to attack HINDRAF. Just watch.
if Hindraf is all about self glory , it wont have to bring justice down to streets . Those lawyers could have just use court of law to gain popularity . Money will pour as rain on them . They could enjoy their life with family and not in prison all alone .
Lim GE went to jail defending a little girl . Only a crook will say he did that for personal glory . Personal glory uh ….ask this to your party chief ….. how he managed to secure wealths in Aus and India ??
Hindraf created historical unity among Malaysian Indians . Hindraf created political awareness among Indians whom thus far stayed away . Hindraf brought down thugs and money crocodiles of mic . Hindraf opened the way for wind of change on GE12 . Hindraf helped to make history by having first Indian DCM .
You wait and see . The next wind of change is around the corner . That is the spark of the ‘new dawn’ in Federal ! Then mic/ipf would be just a county club or recreational club .
Whatever current scuffle in BR for Indians , i still believe the real minority ‘fighters’ are actually in BR .
Waow killer…MIC is not doing things for their personal glory??? especially the chief??..haha…
You r more like Karnan of the past……must have close links to those members or benefited so badly from them….makan budi currently..hmm.
Anyway, can u ask your super leader(MIC chief) to declare all his assets to the public?….ppl may have more respect for him then..
Frankly, if you were to do a statistical study now, maybe less than a quarter wd be in favour of him.
The statement to release the hindraf5 clearly shows our MIC leader has no proper stand & losing credibility.. ppl these days are not easily fooled by these tactics…
VJ
If HINDRAF is not about self-glory, why didn’t they do anything constructive prior to the Nov street demo? While a lot of NGOs at least tried to contribute something by helping Indians in whatever ways they can, these HINDRAF leaders either did nothing or were only interested in for gaining cheap publicity. Please ask those people who know about Utahya and his history. This guy has such a colourful history in creating drama and cheap publicity that you could make a bad kollywood movie on his life.
HINDRAF united the Indians? Ha ha…nice joke ! What they did was just to stir up communalism by seizing on emotional issues, using lies and half-truths.
First DCM ? Well, that’s true…but please try reading my earlier posts on Penang situation. Please remember that this post is NOT DCM but DCM 2, while the other Malay guy is DCM 1…that should show you something right?
Well, I can’t stop you from dreaming…keep dreaming my friend…that’s the only place your dreams can come true…