Check your facts before making wild claims, MIC tells Anwar

 

MIC president SA Vigneswaran having a chat with his Umno counterpart Ahmad Zahid Hamidi at the Briged MIC launch today.

KUALA LUMPUR: Opposition leader Anwar Ibrahim was urged today to “do a little bit of research” before accusing three MIC-linked organisations of misappropriating funds meant for the Indian community.

MIC president SA Vigneswaran accused Anwar of “making wild accusations that are devoid of any facts”.

He added that Anwar “probably made these accusations because the opposition is running out of ideas to slander MIC and Barisan Nasional”.

Vigneswaran, speaking at the launch of Briged MIC, the party’s youth-based initiative for the 15th general election, was responding to a recent call by Anwar for forensic audits of three MIC-related organisations.

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Anwar said the organisations had misappropriated government funds meant for the Indian community. He named them as:

• Maika Holdings, the investment company founded by MIC in the ’80s but which was embroiled in a financial scandal in the early ’90s;
• The government’s Malaysian Indian Transformation Unit (Mitra), which was investigated by MACC last year over allegations that its funds were abused from 2019 to 2021; and
• MIC’s education arm, the Maju Institute of Educational Development (MIED), which he said was embroiled in financial improprieties.

Vigneswaran said MIED’s funds are managed by a board of trustees to ensure that there is no misappropriation, as well as to safeguard the reputation of the party’s education arm.

“We have not received a penny from the government,” he added.

Training his guns on Pakatan Harapan, Vigneswaran accused the coalition of showing their love for the Malaysian Indian community only once every five years during the election period.

“MIC, on the other hand, looks upon the agenda of safeguarding the community’s rights as a responsibility entrusted to the party,” he said.

The MIC president also reiterated the party’s call for Mitra, which is currently under the jurisdiction of the national unity ministry, to be placed under the Prime Minister’s Office for effective implementation of its initiatives.

Vigneswaran also urged Prime Minister Ismail Sabri Yaakob, who was present at the event, to allocate millions of ringgit in funds to Indian youths and entrepreneurs whose businesses are at risk.

“MIC also wants the number of matriculation seats for the community, which is currently at 2,200, to be increased.”

Vigneswaran also spoke on the issue of the implementation of the Security Offences (Special Measures) Act 2012 which he said should be used for serious crimes only.

He said there were cases where the authorities could have used other laws such as the Penal Code, Prevention of Crime Act, Prevention of Terrorism Act, and Dangerous Drugs Act. - FMT