Perak Sultan pays last respects to Samy Vellu

KUALA LUMPUR: The Sultan of Perak Sultan Nazrin Muizzuddin Shah has arrived at the residence of the late Tun S. Samy Vellu.

Donning a muted batik shirt, His Highness arrived at roughly 10am and was ushered into the residence by MIC deputy president Datuk Seri M. Saravanan.

Shortly after, Tengku Datuk Seri Zafrul Abdul Aziz also arrived to pay his respects.

Former politician Tan Sri Leo Moggie, who was also at the wake, said the former works minister was an exceptional colleague who excelled at his work.

Tengku Zafrul said although he was unable to work with Samy Vellu in Cabinet, working with him as a professional during his younger days exposed him to Samy’s exemplary nature.

“He was always passionate about issues close to his heart and his passing is a great loss,” he said.

Among the other personalities present here were former Cabinet minister Tan Sri Shahrizat Abdul Jalil and Puchong MP Gobind Singh Deo.

Sharizat said she was fortunate to be under the tutelage of leaders such as Samy Vellu when she became a Cabinet minister.

“He (Samy) took the freshies as his younger siblings and mentored us greatly.

“He also taught us that being a leader did not mean only having a vision but also a heart.

“This was seen where he was always on the ground with the people,” she said, adding that he was a leader not only for the Indians but all Malaysians.

Gobind said Samy was a well-known politician and recalled how his father, the late Karpal Singh used to debate with Samy in parliament.

“Although they both had different political understandings and often debated, they had a great respect for one another.

“Personally, I have also worked with him on legal issues and he is someone very pleasant to work with,” he said, adding that Samy was always willing to work with others to obtain the best for Malaysians.

On Thursday (Sept 15), former MIC president Tan Sri Dr S. Subramaniam broke the sad news that Samy Vellu had passed away at the age of 86.

The former health minister said, in a Facebook post, that he had been informed of the tragic news by the former MIC president's son, Datuk Seri Vell Paari.

Samy Vellu was the Sungai Siput MP from 1974 to 2008, served as works minister from 1983 to 1989 and again from 1995 to 2008.