Indian contractors not paid for work done

A MIC branch chairman says Indian contractors are not paid for the work done in Tamil schools and blames the party for it.

PETALING JAYA: A MIC branch leader, who seems to be on a crusade to oust MIC president G Palanivel, today alleged that Indian contractors, entrusted to remedy and repair Tamil schools nationwide, have not been paid for the job done.

S Padnmanagan, the Petaling Jaya SS2 MIC branch chairman, said he had received several complaints from the Indian Builders Association of Malaysia (IBAM) that some of its contractors were not paid for the work in Tamil schools.

Padnmanagan said MIC was entrusted by the government to pick the right contractors and identify the Tamil schools that needed repair works, and to pay for the work done.

When contacted, IBAM president P Rajoo confirmed that several of its contractors were yet to receive payments ranging from RM19,000 and RM20,000 for the job done.

“There is a delay, we were promised 14 days for payment once the job is complete. It has been three weeks now and still no news”, said Rajoo.

“Many contractors were given jobs in other states and they often bear heavy costs for logistics and accommodation for workers. They can’t afford to keep returning to the job sites again and again when people from the Prime Minister’s Department make site visits,” he added.

Padnmanagan said since MIC was entrusted with the funds to repair Tamil schools, the party seems to be aloof when it came to payments.

“Why is this so? The money is given by the government. There is no short fall in funds. So, why is MIC president (G Palanivel) not releasing the funds? Are the funds with the MIC or has gone elsewhere?” he told FMT when contacted.

President a loner

Launching an attack on Palanivel, he said the president of the largest Indian-based political party in the country does not hear views of grassroots leaders but works alone.

“Palanivel always works alone and does not listen to issues raised by the grassroots members. No attention has been given to help resolve issues from the ground level,” said Padnmanagan.

He also accused Palanivel, who is in charge of the Public Complaints Bureau, of not handling the bureau in an effective manner.

“The Public Complains Bureau (PCB) has been idle and inactive ever since he took over. How else do we raise issues? If he (Palanivel) doesn’t know how to run the PCB, we shall ask Murugiah to teach him how to administrate it,” he added.

T Murugiah was a deputy minister in the Prime Minister’s Department in charge of the PCB before Palanivel took over.

“There is no proper leadership, he does not want to get involved with NGO’s, let alone his own delegations. People say he has only been a leader for two years, but he has been an MP for 20 years now. Does he still not know how to serve the people and his community?” asked Padnmanagan.