Samy raps Palani for ‘shooting his mouth’

The former MIC president also takes Dr S Subramaniam to task.

KUALA LUMPUR: Calling for an end to speculation that he will be contesting in the 13th general election, former MIC president S Samy Vellu maintained that he had never requested MIC to nominate him to re-contest the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat.

“At no time, did I ask the MIC nor the party boss (G Palanivel) that I wanted to contest in the coming general election,” he said when asked to comment on Palanivel’s statement today that Samy Vellu will not be contesting in the 13th general election.

Samy Vellu said Palanivel and MIC deputy president Dr S Subramaniam had misunderstood his statement made at a media conference after handing over donations to the families of the slain warriors of Lahad Datu, Sabah in Bukit Aman here last Wednesday.

“I was asked by a reporter (at the media conference in Bukit Aman) whether I will be interested to contest in Sungai Siput to which I said it is up to the prime minister to decide who can contest.

“The reporter went on to ask if I thought I was a winnable candidate. I told the reporter that I have no doubt that I am a winnable candidate. But that did not mean that I had requested Palanivel that I wanted to re-contest in Sungai Siput,” he said.

Palanivel and Subramaniam were quoted as saying that only the prime minister and Barisan Nasional chairman could decide on the candidates for Barisan Nasional in the 13th general election.

They were referring to the statement by Samy Vellu that he would be a winnable candidate for the BN in Sungai Siput in the forthcoming general election.

Samy Vellu said he was saddened over the statements made by Palanivel and Subramaniam which did not reflect his real intentions.

“They (Palanivel and Subramaniam) should have called me first to find out what transpired at the media conference (in Bukit Aman) before shooting off their mouths,” he said, adding that Palanivel and Subramaniam showed immaturity in politics by “jumping the gun”.

Samy Vellu said it was he who fought political battles for the duo (Palanivel and Subramaniam) in MIC when he was the party president.

“They must remember that they are where they are today because of the political battles which I fought for them,” he said.

Samy Vellu said he was entrusted by the Prime Minister and Barisan Nasional chairman Najib Tun Razak to deliver the Sungai Siput parliamentary seat for BN in the coming general election irrespective of who the BN candidate would be.

“I will continue to work in Sungai Siput to deliver on what has been entrusted on me by the BN chairman,” he added.