Don’t blame young Indians for questioning MIC’s contributions, says Saravanan

 The MIC deputy president says the contributions of the party’s past leaders risk being forgotten because much of their history has not been adequately recorded.

MIC deputy president M Saravanan said former MIC leaders like V Manickavasagam played significant roles in Malaysia’s development, particularly in transportation, telecommunications and infrastructure.

KUALA LUMPUR:

Indian youths should not be blamed for questioning MIC’s contributions to the nation when it is the party which has failed to adequately document the achievements of its past leaders, says deputy president M Saravanan.

Saravanan said the current generation may be the last to have firsthand knowledge of the contributions made by the party’s former leaders.

“If we do not properly document all this within the next 10 years, this history will be lost. The next generation will not know what we have done and contributed,” he said in a speech at the launch of a biography on former MIC president V Manickavasagam here today.

English and Tamil versions of the biography “Tan Sri Manickavasagam: Memories-Reflections-Achievements” were launched today to mark the centenary of the sixth MIC president’s birth.

Manickavasagam led the party from 1973 until his death in 1979 and served in the Cabinets of Malaysia’s first three prime ministers – Tunku Abdul Rahman Putra Al-Haj, Abdul Razak Hussein and Hussein Onn.

Saravanan said former MIC leaders like Manickavasagam played significant roles in Malaysia’s development, particularly in transportation, telecommunications and infrastructure.

He cited Manickavasagam’s role in developing social security protection, which eventually led to the establishment of the Social Security Organisation (Perkeso), as well as the late VT Sambanthan’s role in the development of the Parliament building and Sultan Abdul Aziz Shah Airport in Subang.

Saravanan also highlighted Manickavasagam’s role in the establishment of Malaysian Airline System (MAS) following the break up of Malaysia-Singapore Airlines.

He said Manickavasagam recognised the importance of technical and vocational education for the Indian community decades before it became widely discussed.

“He said that if we want to change society, it has to be done through education,” Saravanan said, adding that Manickavasagam initiated technical and vocational education programmes through MIC.

He also highlighted how the construction of the MIC headquarters in 1973 was done without taking loans, describing it as another significant achievement of Manickavasagam’s leadership that should be preserved in the party’s history. - FMT