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Saturday September 19, 2009

Ex-PM: Samy will become a liability to BN


PUTRAJAYA: MIC president Datuk Seri S. Samy Vellu will become a liability to Barisan Nasional in the next general election because his leadership has failed, Tun Dr Mahathir Mohamad said.

The former prime minister said he was worried that the people’s support for Barisan would erode and the coalition would be the victim because Samy Vellu was still leading the MIC.

He must step down to take responsibility for the party’s failure in the last general election and for his own loss, Dr Mahathir told Bernama yesterday.

“If we look at other countries, whenever a leader fails, he resigns. In Japan, he commits harakiri. We’re not asking him (Samy Vellu) to commit harakiri.”

He said he had a right to criticise anyone for the sake of Barisan.

“I’ve criticised Pak Lah. Who is Samy Vellu that I cannot criticise him?” Dr Mahathir said leaders must realise that the post they held, was not for life.

“This is not directed at Samy Vellu alone because there are others who are like him.”

He said he had wanted to resign in 1998 but because of the economy and the Datuk Seri Anwar Ibrahim issue, he had to continue leading the nation until 2003.

“Malaysian leaders still do not understand that when they fail, they should resign of their own volition, no need for others to tell them.”

He said Barisan leaders must admonish Samy Vellu because they were responsible not only for the performance of their own parties but also that of the coalition.

“If I know that a person will cause the BN to lose, that is already a BN problem, no longer an MIC problem.

“We cannot keep saying don’t interfere. Because of him, the BN lost.

“Previously, there was no Hindraf. Now there are scores (of pressure groups). It’s him that the people don’t want but he still wants to be president.”

On Samy Vellu’s chosen leaders winning last week, Dr Mahathir said they could win party elections but would lose in the general elections because the people would not support them.

He said Samy Vellu became popular because he (Dr Mahathir) had helped him in many of his projects.

Reflecting on his past duties as prime minister, Dr Mahathir said he had to persuade the Malays to allow Barisan to place MIC candidates in Malay-majority areas because no constituency had an Indian majority.

“Without support from Umno members and the other Malays, the MIC could not win. So that is my service to the MIC.”

In another interview, Samy Vellu said he had discussed his retirement plan with Datuk Seri Najib Tun Razak in June and would stick to it.

“I had a frank discussion with the Prime Minister when I met him in Sarawak, where I told him of my (retirement) plan.

“I will keep my word to the PM and I will not change (my plan).”

However, he declined to reveal more, saying that it was between him and Najib.

On Dr Mahathir’s statement that he was a liability to Barisan, Samy Vellu said Dr Mahathir was entitled to his opinion.

“I’m not hurt by his comments and my respect for him will never diminish.”

However, he was sad that Dr Mahathir labelled him a liability now “but when we were winning, I was considered an asset.”

Samy Vellu said Dr Mahathir’s comments was akin to “telling a young wife that she is beautiful and an asset, but when she becomes old, she is branded a liability.”

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