Murugiah on anti-BN speech: I was agitated

The former deputy minister seeks to clear the air over a video clip that has gone viral on Facebook.

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PETALING JAYA: Former senator and deputy minister T Murugiah has affirmed that he is still a loyal member of MIC and does not intend to withdraw his support for Barisan Nasional.

The question arose because a YouTube video shows him giving a speech that appears to be anti-Barisan Nasional.

The 15.09-minute clip, entitled “MIC people must watch this video”, was posted on YouTube early last week and has since gone viral on Facebook.

The video was shot last year during a prize-giving ceremony at the Lorong Jawa Tamil school in Seremban.

Murugiah was speaking in Tamil about problems in acquiring land for new buildings for the school. He is recorded in the video as saying: “If they felt the votes of 1,000 school children here were important, they would have granted the land and built the school.

“You as parents should decide what you want during the general election. How can I ask you to vote for BN? Tell the government to decide or you decide (whom to vote for).”

Speaking to FMT today, he said he was speaking in the heat of agitation.

“I was agitated. The headmaster was bashing MIC and the government and then someone from the audience said that they would not vote for MIC,” said Murugiah, who was a senator and deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department until 2011.

The local Indian community had been asking for a new school on a new plot of land for the past 30 years. Murugiah said the parents and school staff were unhappy because the state authorities had been ignoring the request.

He told FMT he was blaming government agencies for failing to implement changes outlined by Prime Minister Najib Tun Razak.

“The PM has done a good job. It is the government machineries that are causing these problems.”

He said he suspected that the person responsible for posting the video clip was out to tarnish his image.