By IANS
Kuala Lumpur : Malaysian Indian leader Samy Vellu said that he was ready to face any challenge from the five detained leaders of the controversial Tamil outfit Hindu Rights Action Force (Hindraf) in the next general election.
Along with speculation over early polls in Malaysia, there were talks that one of the five Hindraf leaders might contest against Vellu, who is the works minister in the Malaysian government, in Sungai Siput, his parliamentary constituency.
He initially declined to comment on the detained leaders, saying, “I don’t want to talk about them,” The Star newspaper reported Sunday.
However, Vellu added: “They can contest anywhere. After all, they are not enemies. They are Indians. If they have something to ask for, they’ll ask and if there’s something to do for the community, we’ll do.”
There are also murmurs within the Malaysian Indian Congress (MIC), which Vellu has led for a long time, that he should contest in the larger interests of the ethnic Indians, who form eight percent of Malaysia’s 27 million population.
But those who support him say that Vellu has played a major role in the government as a significant partner of the ruling coalition, Barisan Nasional.
Hindraf has courted controversy after a rally it staged Nov 25 last year in Kuala Lumpur, was forcibly dispersed and five of its leaders – M. Manoharan, 46, P. Uthayakumar, 46, V. Ganabatirau, 34, R. Kengadharan, 40, and K. Vasantha Kumar, 34, were put under two-year detention.
However, their detention under the stringent Internal Security Act (ISA) does not debar them from contesting the elections.
The Hindraf protest and the subsequent strong action by the government in which Vellu is a minister, has been perceived as a challenge to him.
According to the government, the Hindraf wants to ‘destabilise’ the country by disturbing the ethnic balance that has kept Malaysia going since the independence and is part of the diversity.
The country has an estimated 65 percent indigenous Malay population and 33 percent Chinese. The Indians, predominantly Tamil Hindus, also include Malayalees, Telugus, Sikhs and Hindi speaking north Indians.
Vellu has frequently criticised the Hindraf and accused its leaders of misguiding the Tamil speaking populace.
Last week, 200 estate workers staged a peaceful demonstration at a temple in Ayer Tawar, calling for one of the five Hindraf leaders to take on Samy Vellu in his Sungai Siput parliamentary constituency.
On Friday, the detainees’ legal counsel M. Kulasegaran said that there were many requests for the five to stand as candidates.
Meanwhile, the New Straits Times ran a report Sunday quoting some of the MIC leaders as saying Vellu had been at the helm “for too long.”
Former MIC central working committee member K.P. Samy called for a party election “for the sake of the Indian community and Barisan Nasional.”
“That would be his biggest sacrifice if he really cares for the party and the community,” said the party veteran.
However, his supporters say that any change would be detrimental for the Indian community.
They point out that Vellu has a good standing within the ruling coalition. He got the Thaipuam religious festival declared as a public holiday in many parts of the country and drew large crowds for a rally of Malaysian Indians addressed by Prime Minister Abdullah Ahmad Badawi.