Several Malaysian participants at a just concluded annual meeting of the Indian diaspora in New Delhi have expressed disappointment with the 'lies and half-truths' of MIC president S Samy Vellu on the Indian community’s plight in Malaysia.

They are dismayed with Samy Vellu, who is also the works minister, for portraying a positive picture of the Indian Malaysians’ plight to the other participants of the 'Pravasi Bharatiya Divas'. 

The two-day conference, which ended yesterday, attracted thousands of people of Indian origin to the Indian capital.

“He was asked by everyone here as to what is happening to the Indians in Malaysia. On every occasion he told them that everything was fine and that we are doing very well,” said S Nadarajah, a Kuala-Lumpur-based management consultant who attended the meeting in his personal capacity to represent the ‘India Baru‘ (community members with a new awareness).

“He told the participants and the Indian media that there were no cases of the Indian community being marginalised in Malaysia. He kept repeating these lies and half-truths throughout the meeting,” he told Malaysiakini today.

Nadarajah also said that Samy Vellu had played down the impact created by the Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf), stating that the movement was only interested in 'creating trouble'.

“He refused to acknowledge that Hindraf had managed to create some awareness among the Indian community in Malaysia,” added Nadarajah, who is still in New Delhi.

Samy’s angry interview

Samy Vellu, who led a 70-member delegation from Malaysia, which included several MIC leaders and local businessmen, was a guest speaker in one plenary session and had various other speaking engagements and media interviews throughout the conference.

He was also constantly mobbed by the Indian media who were keen to find out about the true situation of the Indian community in this country. In several media interviews, Samy Vellu had said that the Indian community was not being marginalised and that they were 'misled' by Hindraf.

Yesterday, in an interview on TV3, he also lashed out at several Malaysians who were eager to dispute him in New Delhi.

“Here I am telling the Indians that we are all doing well and that the Indian community in Malaysia is well taken care of and yet there are some individuals who rebut me by stating the opposite,” he told TV3.

He even named Nadarajah as one such person, claiming that he (Nadarajah) was a PPP member who had deviated from BN principles by attacking the government in India.

Nadarajah denied today that he was a PPP member. This was confirmed by PPP as well.

“I am here on my own. I am not a PPP member. And there is nothing wrong in telling the world the truth about how the Indian Malaysians are being neglected,” he said.

“If Samy Vellu thinks he can get away with his lies by turning the table against me, he is very wrong. I might even sue him for defaming me,” he added.

MIC’s misleading booklet

Another Malaysian participant said that the MIC was on a campaign in New Delhi to portray a completely wrong picture.

“They have distributed a 20-page colour booklet to all participants here on the wonderful living conditions of the Indians in Malaysia,” he said, adding that the booklet had glaringly left out so many issues involving the community.

“MIC proudly claims to be the sole custodian of the Indian community in Malaysia in the booklet. Who gave them that right? After all, it is the failure of MIC and Samy Vellu which is the root cause of the Indian community’s problems today,” added the KL-based entrepreneur.

Speaking on behalf of several other like-minded individuals, the participant also accused Samy Vellu of misinforming the Indian media.

“When the rest of us are asked about the plight of the community, we tell them the situation as it is. We tell them what Hindraf is and what happened during the Nov 25 rally. We tell them that there are areas which the Indians have been ignored by the government,” added the businessman.

He said that when Samy Vellu spoke to the Indian media, he merely brushed aside these issues and would keep repeating that the Indians in Malaysia are doing well.

“His often repeated mantra is that the government is doing all that it can to help the community, that the MIC is the sole representative of the community and that Hindraf is an irrelevant force,” he said.

Duty bound to defend

Makkal Osai‘s assistant news editor SV Muthamilmannan, who is in New Delhi for the conference, said that Malaysian participants were a hot favourite among the Indian media.

“The journalists were not just after Samy Vellu but were also interested in knowing the real situation from non-political Malaysian participants,” he told Malaysiakini.

“Some of these participants were blunt with their assessment while there were others who used the Indian media to send a message that it was time for Samy Vellu to go.

“Generally they told about how economically poor the community was and how it was being pushed further down,” he added.

The Indian newspapers and television stations have given Samy Vellu a good coverage and to balance it up, they have also given his critics some coverage too, added the veteran journalist.

A MIC leader in the Samy Vellu entourage explained that his boss was duty-bound by BN and government principles to defend the government’s records in the international arena.

“Personally, he might feel otherwise but he can never say it out in the open as he is part of the government and he has to stand by the government,” said the leader who requested anonymity.

“He is doing his duty in explaining to the Indian government and others here that the MIC is taking good care of the community. At the same time, what many don’t realise is that on the ground, the party is working very hard to address all the community’s issues,” he said.