The High Court has ordered the former MIC president and seven other directors of the Maju Institute of Education Development (MIED) to hand over private documents that could reveal the range of alleged mismanagement and corruption in the construction of the multi-million AIMST University in Kedah.
Other defendants in the suit brought by MIED are Samy Vellu’s successor Datuk G. Palanivel, former MIC leaders Tan Sri M. Mahalingam, Tan Sri Dr T. Marimuthu, Datuk Dr SK Ampikaipakan, Tan Sri Dr Karnail Singh Nijhar, Tan Sri Datuk K. Kumaran, and Tan Sri G. Vadiveloo.
All the individuals were, at various times, strong supporters of Samy Vellu.
Sources told The Malaysian Insider that cost overruns for the construction of the controversial university exceeds RM500 million.
“These documents would reveal the true picture why construction cost escalated,” said one MIED director.
The federal government provided RM300 million in grants for the construction of the university, while Samy Vellu had raised millions more from MIC members and the Indian community.
MIED also took a loan from Bank Pembangunan for about RM300 million using the land and university as collateral, the director told The Malaysian Insider.
Former MIC Youth chief A. Vigneswaran, who resigned from the party after a tiff with Samy Vellu over MIED, filed a derivative action against the MIED, its chairman Samy Vellu and directors to account for all their actions with respect to MIED.
He is also seeking an injunction to restrain Samy Vellu from continuing as chairman, strip him of his MIED membership, and return all monies or profits made by MIED either himself or family members and friends.
The most significant order sought is for Samy Vellu to compensate for financial losses suffered by MIED and AIMST in the time he was chairman.
The High Court has consistently backed the actions, arguing that MIED is funded by public monies and its directors have a fiduciary duty to protect the MIED public property from thievery or mismanagement.
Commercial Court Judge Abdul Aziz Rahim today gave Samy Vellu and the seven trustees 30 days to disclose documents related to the party’s education arm since 1990.
The documents sought — all under the custody, possession and control of defendants — covered monies received and paid out by MIED from 1990 up to the time Vigneswaran filed his RM100 million suit against Samy and the MIED trustees on July 5, 2010.
Samy Vellu was close to Vickeswaran’s father, S. Sannase, who helped Samy Vellu rise up the MIC ladder and this relationship is said to have led to Samy Vellu taking Vigneswaran back as an MIC member in the last central working committee (CWC) meeting he chaired as MIC president on December 6, 2010.
However, there was no discussion over the fate of over 100,000 former MIC members who had either resigned or were expelled by Samy Vellu including recent critics V. Mugilan, Kumar Amman and KP Samy who were CWC members who urged Samy Vellu to step down.
The action places current MIC president Palanivel is a tight position of having to please Samy Vellu, whose political support he needs, and satisfying critics who are angered by Samy Vellu’s excesses and demand an account of losses and mismanagement under Samy Vellu’s 31-year rule as MIC president. - Malaysian Insider
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